Suitcase with wheels and transporting hook

A long, bent hook and a set of detachable wheels are used to transport luggage. The housing for the wheels is attached to a suitcase by means of a self-adhesive plate. The wheel axles are spring loaded so they can be taken off. The hook incorporates a metal rod bent 270.degree. at one end to form a handle and a perpendicularly bent J-shaped hook at the other end that is used for holding one or more bags. Furthermore, the metal rod is again bent about a third of the way from the handle to the hook.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to luggage supporting devices and more particularly 
has reference to a portable suitcase attaching hook and wheels device 
capable of simply and easily transporting more than one bag at a time. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Examples of pertinent patents ar U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,616,632, 2,925,283, 
2,999,310 and 3,257,120 and Swedish Pat. No. 56,720. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,616,632 shows a luggage carrier comprised of mounted wheels 
and a sectional extensible handle which may be removably attached to the 
carrier by means of a threaded extension and socket. The wheels are 
mounted on arms that are secured to the bag. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,925,283 described a self-contained means for rolling 
luggage along the ground. The wheels are retractable and mounted as an 
integral part of the suitcase structure. A U-shaped handle slides into 
supports on the sides of the suitcase. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,120 described handle and wheels which are bolted to a 
suitcase. In all of these cases the inventions are designed to transport 
one suitcase. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,999,310, FIG. 3 shows a holding tool comprising a metal 
rod having a handle portion and curved end formed as a hook. The design 
and function are substantially different from the present hook. 
Swedish Pat. No. 56,720 covers a hook with an oval shaped handgrip. The 
body portion and hook are different. 
None of the prior art devices provides a means for a traveler to handle 
more than one bag at a time. In addition, none of the prior art devices' 
wheels are readily detachable from the luggage. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention overcomes the problems which exist in the prior art 
devices. The present invention provides a long J-shaped hook that can 
support more than one piece of luggage at a time. The invention also 
incorporates a set of wheels which are detachably connected to luggage 
supported by the hook. 
In a preferred form, the invention provides a luggage hook designed to 
engage the handles on suitcases. The hook incorporates a U-shaped handle, 
a J-shaped suitcase support hook, and a shank connecting the handle and 
support hook. Preferably, the handle, the support hook and the shank are 
cast integrally. The support hook is sufficiently long to engage the 
handles on a plurality of suitcases arranged in a row. The shank is bent 
out of line near the handle to enable convenient gripping of the handle 
and tilting of the luggage engaged by the luggage hook. 
In a preferred embodiment, the invention further provides a pair of 
detachable wheel brackets which are attached to the bottom of a suitcase 
by means of an adhesive plate. 
Preferably, the wheels have split, spring-loaded axles so that they can be 
removed from the wheel brackets. 
In preferred use, one set of wheels is attached to the bottom of the first 
suitcase in a group engaged by the luggage hook. The traveler then grips 
the handle on the hook and pulls it toward himself to tilt the first 
suitcase on the wheels. By continued pulling of the handle as he walks, 
the traveler moves all the luggage engaged by the hook simultaneously. 
One object of the invention is the provision of a luggage transport 
apparatus having a suitcase engaging hook having a handle, a support 
member configured to engage suitcases, a shank connecting the handle and 
support member, the support member comprising a relatively long portion 
having first and second ends, the first ends connected to the shank at an 
angle, retaining means connected to the second end for preventing 
accidental removal of suitcases from the support member, wheel carrier 
assemblies connected to suitcases engaged by the suitcase engaging hook, 
and wheel assemblies rotatably supported by the wheel carrier assemblies. 
Another object of the invention is the provision of a luggage transport 
apparatus wherein the shank connected to the handle is bent out of line 
with the shank portion connected to the support member at an angle 
sufficient to enable convenient gripping of the handle during use. 
Still another object is to provide a luggage transport apparatus wherein 
the relatively long portion of the support member is sufficiently long to 
simultaneously engage a plurality of suitcases arranged along the support 
member. 
A further object is the provision of a luggage transport apparatus wherein 
the wheel carrier assemblies are removably connected to suitcases engaged 
by the suitcase engaging hook. 
Yet another object is the provision of a luggage transport apparatus 
wherein the wheel assemblies are removably supported by the wheel carrier 
assemblies. 
Another object of the invention is the provision of a luggage transport 
curved handle wherein the luggage support member comprises a telescoping 
extensible support member with detent means for holding the support member 
at its desired position of extension. 
A further object of the invention is the provision of a suitcase wheel 
assembly wherein the wheel carrier assemblies include bases for permanent 
attachment to the suitcase and spaced wheels on plates, and means on the 
bases and plates for removably connecting the bases and plates so that the 
wheels are connected to a bottom of a suitcase. 
These and other and further objects and features of the invention are 
apparent in the disclosure which includes the above and below 
specification and claims and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
Referring to FIG. 2, a suitcase engaging hook 10 made in accordance with 
one embodiment of the present invention is shown to include a handle 12, a 
J-shaped support member 30, and a shank 22 connecting the handle 12 and 
support member 30. The handle 12, shank 22 and support member 30 are cast 
integrally. 
The handle 12 is formed generally into a U-shape with a curved portion 16 
and parallel legs 14 and 18 extending from each end of the curved portion 
16. The upper leg 18 is connected to the upper end portion 24 of the shank 
22 by a perpendicularly curved portion 20. The space between the legs 14 
and 18 is sufficiently large to enable the user's fingers to fit between 
the legs 14 and 18 and close around the upper leg 18. Similarly, the upper 
leg 18 is sufficiently long to accommodate the entire width of the user's 
hand. The handle 12 thereby provides a comfortable, efficient and easily 
manufactured means for the user to grip the suitcase engaging hook 10. 
The support member 30 is formed generally into a J-shape with a curved 
portion 36, a short leg 38 extending from the upper end of the curved 
portion 36 and a long leg 34 extending from the lower end of the curved 
portion 36. The end of the lower leg 34 is connected to the lower end 
portion 28 of the shank 22 by an acutely bent, curved portion 32. The 
space between the two legs 34 and 38 is sufficiently small to enable the 
user to project the curved portion 36 and legs 34 and 38 through the hand 
opening in a handle 4 connected to the top of a suitcase 2. See FIG. 1. 
The user simply rotates the hook 10 until the curved portion 36 is 
sufficiently horizontal to enable it to project through the handle 4. As 
shown in FIG. 1, the hook 10 is rotated back to a vertical operation 
position once the short upper leg 38 projects entirely through the handle 
4. This allows the handle 4 to rest on the long lower leg 34. The suitcase 
4 is then supported by the long leg 34 when the hook 10 is lifted 
vertically by the user. 
As shown by FIG. 1, the long leg 34 is sufficiently long to accommodate a 
plurality of suitcases simultaneously. The user simply arranges his 
luggage so that the handles 4 are aligned. He then rotates the hook 10 as 
described above and projects the curved portion 36 of the support member 
30 through handles consecutively. When the short leg 38 has passed through 
all the handles in the arrangement, the user rotates the hook 10 back to a 
vertical position. Vertical lifting of the hook 10 will then lift all the 
suitcases in the arrangement simultaneously. The short leg 38 and curved 
portion 36 of the support member 30 prevent the suitcases supported by the 
support member 30 from accidentally sliding off the suitcase engaging hook 
10. 
Referring again to FIG. 2, the shank 22 is shown to be bent out of line 26 
at between the upper end portion 24 and the lower end portion 28. The bend 
26 enables the user to grip the handle 12 while standing at the end of a 
row of suitcases engaged by the hook 10 as shown in FIG. 1 and to easily 
pull the handle 12 toward himself, there tilting the suitcase 2 nearest 
himself and raising the remaining suitcases above the ground. The bend 26 
is at an appropriate angle so that the wrist on the user's hand gripping 
the handle 12 is comfortably straight when the suitcase 4 is properly 
tilted for most efficient transportation. 
In order to further facilitate transportation of the luggage, the invention 
provides a set of detachable wheel brackets 40 and detachable wheels 50. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the brackets 40 are attached to the bottom 8 of 
the first suitcase 2 engaged by the hook 10 in the procedure described 
above. This enables the user to wheel the entire group of luggage simply 
by gripping the handle 12 on the hook 10, tilting the luggage as described 
above, and walking in the desired direction while constantly exerting a 
horizontal force on the handle 12. It is clear that the user can walk in a 
direction toward the luggage while constantly pushing the handle 12 away 
from himself or walk away from the luggage while constantly pulling the 
handle toward himself. It is also clear the luggage can be turned in an 
arc about either wheel simply by the user's exerting the appropriate 
sideways force on the handle 12. 
The wheel brackets 40 have horizontally spaced vertical struts 44 with 
openings positioned to receive wheel axles 54. A horizontal plate 42 is 
connected to the upper end of each vertical strut 44. Adhesive material is 
attached to the upper surface 48 of the plate 42 which cooperates with the 
bottom 8 of the properly located suitcase 2 to removably attach the 
bracket 40 to the suitcase. The detachable wheels 50 are configured to 
removably mount on the wheel brackets 40. Each wheel 50 has an outer 
housing with a rolling surface 52. Opposed wheel axles 54 project through 
horizontally aligned openings in the center of each side of the housing 
52. A spring 58 is connected to retaining plates 60 mounted on the inner 
ends of the axles 54. The openings 52 are sufficiently large to enable the 
axles 54 to project into the interior of the housing when the outer ends 
of th axles 54 are pushed toward the housing. However, the openings are 
small enough to prevent passage of the retaining plates 60 through the 
openings. 
To mount the wheels 50 on the brackets 40, the user simply pushes the outer 
ends of both axles 54 toward the housing 52 simultaneously. He then aligns 
the axles 54 with the openings in the vertical struts 44 and releases the 
axle 54 ends. The spring 58 forces the outer ends of the axles 54 away 
from the housing 52 and projects them through the strut 44 opening. The 
strut 44 opening is large enough to permit rotation of the axles 54 after 
the wheels 50 are mounted. The space between the struts 44 is sufficiently 
large to accommodate the wheel housing 52 and to permit the housing to 
freely rotate. 
The detachability feature of the wheels 50 and wheel brackets 40 enables 
the user to carry luggage with the hook 10 whenever doing so would be more 
convenient than wheeling it. Such would occur, for example, if a group of 
luggage was relatively light and few in number but rather clumsy to 
manipulate by hand owing to their assorted sizes. In such an instance, the 
user need simply use the hook 10 in the manner described above to engage 
and simultaneously lift the entire group of luggage and conveniently carry 
it to the desired destination. If he is in a hurry, he need not spend time 
attaching the wheels 50 and brackets 40. If he needs to merely carry the 
luggage up a flight of stairs, he may prefer to dispense with wheels that 
could prove bothersome or dangerous in such an undertaking. 
An expandable embodiment of the luggage hook 10' is shown in FIG. 6. The 
hook has a handle portion 12 and a shank portion 22 similar to the hook 
shown in FIG. 2. The curved part 62 at the bottom of the shank portion 22 
is integrally formed with a luggage support member 64 which also has a 
rigidly attached hook 66 and a reentrant end 68. The expandable telescopic 
luggage support member 64 is formed from an outer tube 7. 
The large tube 70 has a series of holes 72 in its bottom which receive a 
curved end 78 of spring 76 as shown in FIG. 7. The small tube 74 fits 
within the large tube and has a hole 75 through which the end 78 projects. 
To adjust the length of the support member 64 one grips hook 66 and curve 
62 and pulls slightly outward to cause bead 78 to ride up in hole 72 to 
the inner surface of tube 70. Twisting the hook in the manner shown in 
FIG. 7 removes the bead 78 from the series of holes 72. 
Further longitudinal movement in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7 
adjusts the hook to the desired length whereupon the hook is again turned 
upward and aligned with the plane of the handle and is moved slightly 
foreward or rearward to cause the bead 78 to drop into one of the holes 
72. 
As shown in FIG. 8, a preferred form of wheel mounting 80 has an upper 
plate 82 with spaced permanent adhesive portions 84 for permanent fixture 
to a suitcase. 86 represents the top of a bolt which has been permanently 
embedded in plate 82. 
Lower plate 90 has parallel struts 92 which extend downward to rotatably 
support wheels 94. 
As shown in FIG. 9, bolt 88, having a head 86 attached to an upper plate is 
received within opening 96 in the wheel plate, and a nut 98 is threaded 
onto the bolt to attach the wheel plate 90 to the base 82. When traveling, 
nut 98 may be removed, and bolt 88 acts as one of the downward extending 
lugs conventionally associated with a bottom of the suitcase to squarely 
support the suitcase in standing position. 
An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 10 where a plate 
82' which is permanently attached to a suitcase has a stem 87 which 
supports fastener 88'. Rounded humps 89 fit within depression 91 to hold 
the plate 90' in alignment with base 88' when the plate and base have been 
connected. 
Connecting the wheels to the fastener 88' requires putting the wheel 
assembly 90' at right angles to the base 82' and aligning opening 96' with 
fastener 88', pushing the wheel assembly downward and twisting the wheel 
assembly so that the rounded humps 89 engage the depressions 91 in the 
plate 90'. 
When the wheel assembly is removed and packed in the suitcase for 
traveling, the stud 87 and fastener 88 prime act in cooperation with 
conventional lugs on the bottom of the suitcase to hold the suitcase in 
square upright position. 
While the invention has been described with specific reference to 
embodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may be 
constructed without departing from the scope of the invention. The scope 
of the invention is defined in the following claims.