Valence for luggage case

A valence for a luggage or carrying case includes male and female extrusions adapted to be secured to the opposing edges of the case sections. The extrusions include dual structures for positively securing the extrusions to the edges of case sections as well as mating male and female portions adapted to establish a seal between the male and female extrusions when the luggage or carrying case is in a closed condition. The frame extrusions further include structures by which accessory items such as rails can be supported in a convenient manner and for the purposes intended.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to luggage cases and is more 
particularly concerned with an improvement to the valence provided along 
the confronting edges of the two sections comprising the luggage case. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It is well known to provide a load-bearing metal valence along the 
peripheral edge of each of a pair of luggage case sections which are made 
of soft or comparatively rigid material, such as extruded aluminum or 
magnesium. In luggage cases of this type, the valence strips are secured 
to the case sections usually by rivets or by crimping the edge of the case 
sections into appropriate grooves in the valence. 
Valences used in prior art luggage have varied dramatically with some such 
valences requiring that the edge of the luggage case to which the valence 
is attached be melted into a barbed valence to secure the valence to the 
edge of the case. A valence of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,194,365 issued to J. M. Herring, Jr. on Jul. 13, 1965. Other valences 
such as of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,057 issued to 
Holtzman, et al. on Apr. 3, 1973 show male and female extrusions that 
provide a recess in a surface thereof to receive an edge of a luggage case 
section with the edges being secured in the grooves by conventional 
fasteners. 
Other valences suggest that the edges of the casing be bent in order to 
conform with grooves or channels provided on the valence whereby upon the 
application of a clamping member, the valence is positively secured to the 
edge of the luggage case section. An example of such a valence is 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,720 issued to E. H. Nelson on Oct. 30, 
1956. The U.S. Patent to B. Shwayder granted Aug. 14, 1956 under U.S. Pat. 
No. 2,758,682 discloses a valence wherein a groove is provided for 
receiving an edge of the luggage case and a bendable arm is moved into 
crimping engagement with the edge of the luggage case section to secure it 
in the groove. The valence disclosed in the Shwayder patent is also of 
interest in disclosing the use of male and female mating sections along 
confronting edges of the luggage case sections to provide means for 
rigidifying the joint between the two sections. 
Some valences are not as strong as would be desired and do not present an 
appealing aesthetic appearance both from the outside and inside of the 
luggage case sections. Further, the prior art confronting valence elements 
do not provide means for sealing the interior of the luggage case from the 
ambient environment. Accordingly, while prior art valences exist in 
numerous forms, they have not proven to be entirely satisfactory. It is to 
overcome the shortcomings in the prior art that the improved valence of 
the present invention has been developed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The valence of the present invention consists of male and female extruded 
frame members which have been uniquely designed to provide a positive 
system for connecting the valence to the edge of a luggage case section, 
and, in addition, to provide convenient means for mounting, a handle, 
latch and locking mechanism to the valence. The valence further provides a 
unique system for rigidifying the engagement between the male and female 
extrusion frame members and in a manner such that an effective seal is 
established when the sections of the luggage case are closed in an engaged 
confronting relationship. 
Each of the male and female frame extrusion members includes a web portion 
which defines a recess in which an edge of the luggage case section is 
received. Dual means are provided for securing the edge of the luggage 
case section in the recess with one means including a bendable arm having 
a crimping tooth thereon which is adapted to be moved into crimping 
engagement with the edge. Further, and adjacent to the recess, there are 
provided a plurality of longitudinally extending channels defined by 
parallel reinforcing flanges. The flanges have a predetermined spacing so 
that threaded fasteners can be passed through the edge of the luggage case 
sections and be self threaded into the sides of the flanges thereby 
providing a second means of connecting the edges of the luggage case 
sections to the valence members. 
Each of the male and female frame members includes a barbed rib which is 
adapted to support and retain an auxiliary item such as, by way of 
example, a rail forming a skirting that overlies the connection of the 
valence to a luggage case section. The rib may also serve other purposes 
such as, for example, to facilitate retention of a liner in the luggage 
case or to support an insert in the luggage case of the type having 
pre-formed customized pockets to receive and retain various articles such 
as camcorders, cameras, and the like. 
The male frame extrusion member has an elongated tongue projecting away 
from the frame extrusion in an opposite direction from its connection to 
an edge of a luggage case section and the female extrusion member has a 
complimentary and mating groove opening in an opposite direction from its 
connection to an opposing edge of a luggage case section. The groove in 
the female frame extrusion has an enlarged pocket formed in the back 
thereof to retain an elastomeric gasket or sealing member whereby when the 
luggage case sections are placed in abutting relationship, the tongue on 
the male frame extrusion will be seated and sealed in the groove of the 
female frame extrusion by engagement with the elastomeric sealing member. 
Other aspects, features and details of the present invention can be more 
completely understood by reference to the following detailed description 
of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings, and 
from the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference to FIG. 1, a luggage or carrying case 10 is shown having two 
opposed concave rectangularly shaped sections 12 with a peripheral edge 14 
on each section adapted to be moved into confronting relationship with a 
corresponding edge 14 on the other section. The sections 12 are hinged 
together along the bottom of the luggage case section in a manner which 
has not been illustrated but would be readily apparent to one skilled in 
the art. 
The valence 16 of the present invention consists of two component parts 
being identified as male and female frame extrusions 18 and 20, 
respectively. The male frame extrusion 18 is adapted to extend along the 
peripheral edge 14 of one luggage case section while the female extrusion 
20 is adapted to extend along the peripheral edge 14 of the other luggage 
case section. As will be appreciated with the description that follows, 
the valence 16 is ideally suited for establishing a sealed closure along 
the edges of the luggage case sections 12 and includes a location where 
the hinge for connecting the sections can be mounted as well as a handle 
22 for the luggage case, a latch 23, and a locking mechanism 25 to secure 
the luggage case in a closed condition. 
The male frame extrusion 18 is probably best seen in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 9 to 
include a web portion 26 and a mating portion 28. The web portion has a 
generally flat elongated body 30 with a plurality of longitudinally 
extending decorative grooves 32 formed in an outer or top face thereof. 
The opposite or bottom face of the body has at one side thereof, three 
parallel flanges 34 projecting substantially perpendicularly therefrom and 
in substantially parallel relationship. The flanges 34 are uniformly 
spaced a predetermined amount and define channels 36 therebetween for a 
purpose to be described hereinafter and further to serve as reinforcement 
for the web portion 26 of the male extrusion. The terminal edges 38 of the 
flanges 34 define a plane which is substantially parallel to the body 30 
and as will become clear later, also to the edge 14 of the luggage case 
section 12 on which the male frame extrusion is mounted. 
An elongated leg 40 also depends from the bottom face of the body 30 and is 
spaced from the innermost flange 34. As viewed in cross-section, it will 
be seen that the leg 40 extends substantially perpendicularly away from 
the body 30 of the web portion and has a relatively thick base 42 that is 
integral with the body 30. A relatively thin neck portion 44 of 
approximately one-half the width of the base 42 forms an aligned extension 
from the base and a rib portion 46 having a barbed head 48 forms an 
aligned extension from the neck portion. The barbed head defines the 
terminal end of the leg. As will be explained further hereinafter, the 
barbed head can serve several functions, one of which is to support a rail 
108 which overlies and conceals the connection of the edge 14 of the 
luggage case section 12 to the male extrusion 18. At the juncture between 
the neck portion 44 and the rib portion 46, a crimp arm 50 projects at a 
slightly obtuse angle away from the neck portion so as to be almost or 
substantially perpendicular to the neck portion. The arm 50 has a crimp 
tooth 52 on its distal end which is directed toward the flanges 34. An 
indentation 54 is formed in the underside of the arm immediately adjacent 
to its connection with the rib portion 46 thereby defining a relatively 
narrow segment of the arm so that the arm can be bent as desired for a 
purpose to be described hereinafter. 
It will be appreciated that a recess or seat 56 is defined between the 
crimp arm 50 and the plane defined by the terminal edges 38 of the flanges 
34 with the recess being sized to receive an edge 14 of a luggage case 
section 12. A shoulder 58 is defined between the relatively thick base 42 
and the thinner neck portion 44 of the leg 40 with the shoulder serving to 
engage the edge 14 of the luggage case section to help retain the male 
extrusion 18 in a desired position on the edge. With the edge 14 inserted 
into the recess 56, as seen best in FIG. 3, the crimp arm 50 can be bent 
toward the edge of the luggage case section to embed the crimp tooth 52 in 
the edge 14 thereby crimping the edge within the recess to secure the edge 
of the luggage case section 12 to the male frame extrusion 18. 
As probably also best seen in FIG. 3, threaded fasteners 60 can be extended 
through the edge 14 of the luggage case section 12 into the channels 36 
defined between the flanges 34 and with the screw type fasteners being of 
a size such that the threads will engage and become self threaded in the 
side walls of the flanges. In this manner, it will be seen that the 
fasteners can be positioned at any location along the length of the male 
frame extrusion 18 and positively connect an edge 14 of the luggage case 
section 12 to the male frame extrusion. 
The leg 40 projects away from the body 30 of the web portion 26 of the male 
frame extrusion at a location approximately one-third along the width of 
the male frame extrusion with the remaining approximately two-thirds of 
the web portion defining a mounting section 62 which is uninterrupted on 
the lower face of body 30 so that the lock mechanism 25, such as a 
combination lock, can be fastened to the web portion of the male extrusion 
in this area. 
The side of the web portion 26 which is opposite the side on which the 
flanges 34 are disposed has the mating portion 28 of the male extrusion 18 
integrally formed thereon. The mating portion 28 which defines a tongue 65 
projects away from the underside of the relatively flat body 30 and is 
formed from a first leg segment 66 that extends substantially 
perpendicularly away from the body 30, a second leg segment 68 forming a 
tapered extension from the first leg segment, a third leg segment 70 
forming a reverse tapered extension from the second leg segment and a 
fourth depending leg segment 72 extending away from the third leg segment 
so as to be in alignment with the first leg segment 66. The second and 
third leg segments 68 and 70, respectively, are convergent in a direction 
away from the web portion 26 of the male frame extrusion and in a 
direction parallel and opposite to the direction in which the recess 56 
opens. It will be appreciated that in cross-section, the mating portion 28 
of the male frame extrusion 18 forms a projecting tongue of trapezoidal 
cross-section. 
Looking next at FIGS. 3, 4, 6 and 8, the female frame extrusion 20 can be 
seen to include a web portion 74 and a mating portion 76 with the web 
portion having a generally flat body 78 that is substantially narrower 
than the flat body 30 of the male frame extrusion 18. As with the male 
frame extrusion, the body 78 of the female frame extrusion has a plurality 
of decorative grooves 80 provided to extend longitudinally in an upper 
face thereof. A pair of flanges 82 project substantially perpendicularly 
from the underside of the body 78 at one side thereof. The flanges define 
channels 84 there between to facilitate a secure attachment of the female 
frame extrusion 20 to an edge 14 of a luggage case section 12 as described 
previously in connection with the male frame extension. Spaced from the 
innermost flange 82 a distance equal to the spacing between the pair of 
flanges, an integral leg 86 projects substantially perpendicularly away 
from the underside or bottom face of the body 78. The leg 86 has a 
relatively thick base 88 in which the mating portion 76 of the female 
frame extrusion is formed as will be described later. A relatively thin 
neck portion 90 forms an integral extension away from one side of the base 
88. A rib portion 92 forms an integral extension away from the neck 
portion 90 with the rib portion 92 having a barbed head 94 forming the 
lower or terminal end of the leg 86. At the juncture between the neck 
portion 90 and the rib portion 92, a crimp arm 96 projects at a slightly 
obtuse angle away from the neck portion so as to form a substantially 
perpendicular extension. The crimp arm 96 has an upwardly directed crimp 
tooth 98 pointed toward the body 78 of the web portion 74. An indentation 
100 is formed on the underside of the crimp arm 96 at its juncture with 
the rib portion to define a relatively thin segment enabling the crimp arm 
to be bent when desired. 
It will be appreciated that a shoulder 102 is defined between the base 88 
of the leg 86 and the neck portion 90 and in combination with the flanges 
82 and the crimp arm 96, a recess or seat 104 is defined for receiving an 
edge 14 of a luggage case section. As with the male frame extrusion, the 
crimp arm 96 on the female frame extrusion 20 can be bent toward the edge 
14 of the luggage case section to embed the crimp tooth 98 in the edge 14, 
thereby retaining the female frame extrusion on the edge in a crimped 
fashion. 
It will be appreciated that the terminal or lower edges 106 of the flanges 
82 define a plane which is substantially parallel to the body 78 of the 
web portion 74 and also to the edge 14 of the luggage case section on 
which the female frame extrusion is received. The rib portion 92 on the 
lower end of the leg 86 is ideally suited for supporting various accessory 
items such as a rail 108 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, which extends 
across the juncture of the female frame extrusion with the edge 14 of the 
luggage case section. The rib portion 46 on the male extrusion 18 serves 
an identical purpose. 
The mating portion 76 of the female frame extrusion 20 is formed in the 
side face of the base 88 of the leg 86 immediately above the neck portion 
90 of the leg. The female mating portion 76 constitutes a groove 110 
opening in a direction parallel with the body 78 of the web portion 74 but 
in an opposite direction from the recess 104. In cross-section, as best 
seen in FIG. 8, the groove 110 is generally trapezoidal, being defined by 
outwardly divergent sides 111 and with an enlarged recess or pocket 112 
formed in the back thereof. 
An elongated tubular gasket or sealing member 114 made of an elastomeric 
material, such as rubber or vinyl, is seated in the enlarged recess 112 
and as will be explained in more clarity later, is adapted to form a 
sealing engagement with the tongue or mating portion 28 of the male frame 
extrusion 18 when the male and female extrusions are in engaged 
confronting relationship. The enlarged recess 112 at the back of the 
groove 110, of course facilitates retention of the sealing member 114 in 
the groove to prevent it from being inadvertently dislodged. 
As with the male frame extrusion and as mentioned previously, the female 
extrusion 20 can be secured to an edge 14 of a luggage case section by 
threaded fasteners 116 extending through the edge of the luggage case 
section 12 and into self threaded engagement with the side walls of the 
flanges 82 on the underside of the body 78. It will therefore be 
appreciated that dual systems are provided for securing the frame 
extrusions 18 and 20 to the edges of the luggage case sections. Either one 
or both of the systems may be employed. 
As mentioned previously, the mounting section 62 on the underside of the 
male frame extrusion 18 serves as a location in which the locking 
mechanism 23 or the like can be secured to the male frame extrusion. While 
the locking mechanism 23 does not form a feature of the present invention, 
it will be seen that a catch 118 (FIGS. 4 through 6) could be provided on 
the female frame extrusion 20 that is adapted to cooperate with 
conventional hook members 119 (FIG. 5) commonly found in combination locks 
of the type used on luggage and carrying cases. The catch 118 is attached 
to the female extrusion with fasteners 120 after an appropriate slot 121 
is cut in the leg 86 and a notch 122 is formed in the edge 14 of the 
associated luggage case section 12. 
With reference to FIG. 3, it can be seen that when the male and female 
frame extrusions 18 and 20, respectively, are moved into operative 
engagement, the tongue 28 on the male frame extrusion 18 is adapted to be 
matingly inserted into the groove 110 on the female frame extrusion 20 and 
will slightly engage and compress the sealing member 114 to establish a 
liquid-tight seal between the sections 12 of the luggage case 10. The 
confronting edges of the bodies 30 and 78 of each web portion of the frame 
extrusions will also abut immediately above the mating portions 28 and 76 
of the frame extrusions so as to form a substantially continuous outer 
surface that is aesthetically pleasing. 
It will be appreciated from the preceding description of the invention that 
a valence 16 for a luggage or carrying case 10 has been described that 
includes male and female frame extrusions 18 and 20, respectively, adapted 
to be matingly and sealingly engaged to provide a rigidified and 
aesthetically pleasing joint between the two sections 12 on which the 
frame extrusions are mounted. The frame extrusions have also been designed 
to provide a very positive system for connecting the extrusions to the 
edges of the luggage or carrying case sections while in addition providing 
means for mounting and supporting accessory items such as railing, lining 
for the luggage or carrying case, or for pre-formed customized trays that 
are frequently found in rigid walled carrying cases. 
Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of 
particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made 
by way of example, and changes in detail or structure may be made without 
departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended 
claims.