Abstract:
The present invention provides a substantially transparent roll-up or fold-up piece of luggage having a plurality of substantially transparent enclosed compartments therein that may be unrolled or unfolded for neat and easy inspection without having to remove the contents of the luggage.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates generally to luggage, and more particularly, to luggage that may be easily inspected by airport security personnel, and the like. 
     2. Related Art 
     Current luggage designs hinder airport security personnel needing to perform a routine luggage search. Due to the vast expanse within the open inner cavity of most luggage designs, security personnel are forced to open the luggage and remove at least a portion of the contents, or riffle through the contents of the luggage, to be sure that no unlawful items are present. This is time consuming and frustrating for both airport security personnel and airport patrons. Accordingly, there exists a need in the industry for a piece of luggage enabling faster and easier inspection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The first embodiment of the present invention provides a piece of luggage, comprising: a substantially transparent flexible backer; a plurality of substantially transparent enclosed compartments secured to the flexible backer; and a fastening mechanism attached to the flexible backer to secure the luggage in a closed position. 
     The second embodiment of the present invention provides a piece of luggage, comprising: a flexible backer; a plurality of flaps hingedly secured to the backer; and a fastening mechanism attached to an outer surface of the backer to secure the luggage in a rolled up position. 
     The third embodiment of the present invention provides a roll-up piece of luggage having a plurality of compartments therein. 
     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 depicts a piece of luggage in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 depicts the luggage of FIG. 1 in a rolled up position having a pair of wheels, a handle, and a customized non-transparent insert; 
     FIG. 3 depicts a fastening mechanism of the luggage; 
     FIG. 4 depicts the luggage of FIG. 1 in a rolled up position having a shoulder strap; 
     FIG. 5 depicts a piece of luggage in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 depicts the luggage of FIG. 5 in a folded up position; and 
     FIG. 7 depicts a piece of luggage in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Although certain embodiments of the present invention will be shown and described in detail, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The scope of the present invention will in no way be limited to the number of constituting components, the materials thereof, the shapes thereof, the relative arrangement thereof, etc. Although the drawings are intended to illustrate the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
     Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a piece of luggage  10  in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The luggage  10  includes a back piece or backer  12  having a plurality of flaps  14  hingedly attached to a side  16  of the backer  12 . In this example, the first flap  14 A is in a closed or storage position forming an enclosed compartment  18  for the storage of clothing and other similar items. The remaining flaps  14  are in an open or loading position wherein cavities  19  are available for the insertion of clothing and other similar items. 
     In the storage position the flaps  14  are secured to an inner surface  20  of the backer  20 . For example, the three non-hinged sides of the flaps  14  are secured to the backer  12  by fasteners  22  on the inner surface  20  of the backer  12  and mating fasteners  24  on an inner surface  26  of the flaps  14 . The fasteners  22 ,  24  may comprise hook and loop fasteners, e.g., Velcro™, snaps, zippers, etc. 
     The backer  12  and flaps  14  comprise a flexible material, such as flexible plastic, or other similar material, that may be easily closed in various manners, e.g., by rolling up, folding up, etc. The backer  12  and flaps  14  may be formed of a substantially transparent material, e.g., clear plastic, thus allowing for easy inspection when the luggage  10  is in an open position, e.g., rolled out. In particular, those performing the inspection of the luggage  10  can easily see all contents within each compartment  18  from both front and back, or inside and outside, of the luggage  10 . 
     A portion  28  of the backer  12  may be formed of a non-transparent material, or allow for a non-transparent insert so the contents of the luggage  10  are not visible when the luggage  10  is in a closed position, e.g., rolled up or folded up. Furthermore, the non-transparent insert may be costomizable. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, one could right one&#39;s name on the insert to easily identify one&#39;s luggage  10  at the baggage claim. 
     Each compartment  18  may be formed of a limited size, thereby restricting the amount of space available for the storage of items within each compartment  18 . This will make inspection of the luggage  10  easier since all contents within each compartment  18  are visible from either the front or the back, or both sides, of the luggage  10  while the compartments  18  are in a closed position. Accordingly, those performing an inspection of the luggage  10  will not need to open the compartments  18  to see the contents of the compartments  18 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 1, the compartments  18  may be labeled for easier packing. For example, the compartments  18 , or the flaps  14  corresponding to each compartment  18 , may be labeled coat, pants/shorts, shirts, undergarments, socks/shoes, and vanity, to assist persons during packing to know what will fit in each different size compartment  18 . Also, this will assist the airport security personnel during an inspection to know what type of items are in each compartment  18 , and provide some uniformity of texture within each compartment  18  when a security personnel inspects by touching or patting down each closed compartment  18 . 
     The luggage  10  further includes a fastening mechanism  30  attached to an outer surface  32  of the backer  12 , as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The fastening mechanism  30  is securely attached to the outer surface  32  of the backer  12  at one end  34  by stitching, etc., and releasably attached to the outer surface  32  of the backer  12  at a second end  36  by a releasable fastener, such as a hook and loop fastener, e.g., Velcro™, zipper, snaps, buckles, tie straps, etc. 
     Referring back to FIG. 2, the luggage  10  may include a pair of wheels  38  attached to the outer surface  32  of the backer  12 . Likewise, a removable handle  40  may be attached to the outer surface  32  of the backer  12  opposite the wheels  38 , thus enabling a person to pull the luggage  10  along the ground rather than carrying the luggage  10 . The wheels  38  and handle  40  may be formed of a nonmetal material, such as plastic, etc., so metal detectors are not set off, a metal material, or other similarly used material. Alternatively, the luggage  10  may include a shoulder strap  42  attached to first and second sides of the backer  12 , as illustrated in FIG.  4 . 
     In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 illustrates a piece of luggage  10 A that may be closed, e.g., by folding, to form a substantially rectangular piece of luggage  10 A. The backer  12 A is similar to that of the backer  12  described in the first embodiment, however, the backer  12 A of the second embodiment has a plurality of gaps or spaces  44  between each compartment  18 A. As illustrated, the spaces  44  become progressively larger from the area of the luggage  10  that will form the center A of the luggage  10  when in a closed position, to the outer layers B of the luggage  10  to allow for a more compact piece of luggage  10  when closed, as illustrated in FIG.  6 . The spaces  44  may also have compartments for the placement of additional items, such as shoes, socks, etc. 
     In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 illustrates a piece of luggage  10 B having a plurality of flaps  14 B hingedly attached to each side  16 B,  16 B′ of the backer  12 B, such that multiple compartments  18 B, (similar to the compartments  18  of the first and second embodiments described above), are formed on each side of a dividing line  46 . When ready to close the luggage  10 B, a first section  48  of the backer  12 B can be folded, along dividing line  46 , over onto a second section  50  of the backer  12 B, then the backer  12 B can be rolled or folded up in accordance with the first or second embodiment described above. 
     While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention as set forth above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.