Patent Publication Number: US-2016231166-A1

Title: Weigh measuring scales for baggage

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. U.S. 62/114,483 entitled “WEIGH MEASURING SCALES IN-BUILT OR ASSEMBLED WITHIN BAGGAGE” filed Feb. 10, 2015, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system that measures weigh of travel bags, shipment box or containers. More specifically, the present invention is in the technical field of travel baggage, luggage items, shipment box or containers. 
     Most public transports such as airlines, trains or road transports impose some weight limits on all and individual baggage(s) carried by a passenger. The baggage could be the one that is checked-in or ones that are carried by the passengers travelling through airlines or the ones that are used by shipment carriers. 
     To avoid penalties for exceeding maximum allowed limits for individual bags, travellers usually weigh their baggage at home on standard weight scales. Then those bags are weighed again at terminals where a fee may or may not be imposed by carriers depending on weigh limits. There are many such scales available in market today to weigh baggage at home but none of them is user friendly as far as convenience is concerned. Broadly there are two types of weigh scales in market, used for weighing baggage at home; handheld scale and floor based scales. Handheld scale works by attaching the bag to the scale&#39;s hook and then lifting the scale with hands. Floor based scales work by lifting &amp; placing baggage on a weight scale platform. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises of a weigh measuring scale inbuilt within a travel baggage or any shipment item. In some implementations termed as factory fit-outs, the invention can be in-built within a new travel baggage or a shipment container by their manufacturer. While on other hand, the weigh system can be provided as an external module (termed as non factory fit-outs) that can be assembled with a used baggage/container by individuals. The invention includes a weigh measuring system, which when assembled within a baggage weighs the baggage and items placed inside it and provides readings to the user without lifting it. 
     The measuring system comprises of display unit(s) like LCD, Touch screen(s) or Analog meter(s) to indicate the measured weight of baggage. The system draws its power preferably from a rechargeable battery or ordinary battery(s) (AAA/AA) or via a USB port. 
     The invention preferably comprises of communication subsystem(s) to transmit data and configuration information between measuring units and a smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile devices or any device over wired channels of communication like USB cable or via wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth, WIFI Internet or Near Field Communication (NFC) channels. The present invention preferably sends and receives data and configuration information to and from mobile devices or computers via software applications. 
     The system allows user to control various configuration settings such as change the units of measurements from kilograms to pounds via switch buttons on the measuring device or touch screen controls or remotely control via a smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile devices or any device supporting Bluetooth/Near field communication/WIFI internet. The invention comprises of one or more sensors assembled in a circuit and mounted in order to measure weights sending over to central control unit. The sensor(s) are assembled in such a way so as to measure weigh of a baggage in vertical as well as horizontal positions of the baggage. 
     Details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects and potential advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of vertical implementation of present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates rear view of implementation  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates example of implementation where wheels have inbuilt weigh sensors and plugged into the base control unit attached to baggage bottom; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates example of vertical implementation with sensors &amp; control unit installed at inner bottom of the baggage; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates example implementation where sensors are attached between base of baggage and wheel(s); 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective top view of  FIG. 1  with display unit installed on exterior wall of baggage; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram, showing example components that can implement the features and processes of present invention; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates example of horizontal implementation in addition to vertical implementation in a baggage with sensors &amp; display unit(s) installed at respective points; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example of add-on module (non factory fit-outs) to be attached with an used baggage by an individual; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an example implementation using load cell as weigh sensor; 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the invention in more detail, in  FIG. 1 , there is shown a travel baggage in vertical implementation having a display unit  102  mounted over the exterior top of the baggage held upright above the floor on its wheels  110 . Each wheel is assembled with a weigh-measuring sensor  106 . All four weigh measuring sensors are connected to the control unit  108  which receives readings from sensors and shows measured reading on the display unit  102  connected through cables  104 . For two wheels baggage, the sensor(s) can optionally be mounted at wheels or also at the base of the baggage.  FIG. 2  is rear view of  FIG. 1  and has same components. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , which is an example showing implementation where wheels  308  have in-built sensors  304  and connecting cables  306  to be plugged into the control unit  302 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , which is an example of present invention, showing an implementation where sensor(s)  404  &amp; control unit  402  are installed at inner bottom of baggage base and connected through cables  406 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , which is an example implementation of present invention with sensor(s)  506  installed between wheel(s)  510 ,  508  and base  502  of the baggage. The wheels are generally bolted  512  to the base for extra strength. The electrical cables  504  connect the sensor  506  to the control unit. All wheels of the baggage preferably follow similar assembly. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , which is the top view of present invention, showing an example implementation of how exterior top of baggage may look like with display unit  604  mounted over exterior wall of a baggage. This view also depicts how overall assembly would look like for a baggage with in-built or assembled weigh-measuring scale having sensor(s)  602  &amp; control unit  606 . Optionally baggage may have one or more display units and additional sensors as described later in this section. 
     Moving to  FIG. 7 , which is a block diagram indicating components that can implement the features and processes of present invention. The weigh measuring system is comprised of a power module  706  with optional sources as rechargeable battery or AAA/AA battery cells or power through USB port. A user would interact with weigh measuring system via a variety of input/output control subsystems  702  such as switch(s), touch screen controls, or via external devices such as smart phone, tablet, computer or mobile devices. The software application would allow user to configure the units of measurement and other settings per their likings. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 7 , the control unit includes various components like memory  710 , processor  708  and communication subsystems/modules. The processor gathers information from sensor(s)  704  and after munching the information &amp; running it through an algorithm, shows results on respective display unit(s)  718 . The processor  708  also interacts with communication subsystems to send and receive information between control unit and external devices  714  like a smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile devices in client/server mechanism  714  as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 7 , in some implementations, the weigh measuring system also allows sending &amp; receiving of data/configuration to or from computer or mobile devices, preferably via a software application (‘app’) installed on devices. However, optional modes of communication with external devices may include radio frequency e.g. Bluetooth, near field communication or WIFI Internet for wireless communication subsystems  712  and over connected USB ports for wired communication subsystems  716 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8  which illustrates the horizontal implementation of weigh measuring system installed in such a way so as to allow users to read weigh while they are still filling the baggage. A display unit  816  is installed on inner walls of the baggage in this implementation. In this implementation, as the baggage is horizontally placed on the floor or surface, one or more sensor(s)  812  are installed at bottom surface (inside or outside) of the baggage through cables  810  to control unit  804 . This allows user to measure weight in real time while placing items inside the baggage and add/remove items accordingly. The display unit  816  mounted inside wall optionally be turned On/Off automatically via additional sensors (e.g. orientation or pressure sensor) or manually controlled by the user. As seen in  FIG. 8 , the sensor(s)  802  are also installed between baggage base  808  and wheels  806  to the control unit  804  with an externally mounted display unit  814 . This is an example of combination of both implementations where baggage can be measured in vertical as well in horizontal orientations. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , which is an example of present invention provided as an add-on module (non factory fit) for existing baggage  902 . As depicted earlier that weigh measuring system has two different assemblies which are; factory fit outs (in-built) &amp; non-factory fit outs (add-on).  FIG. 10  illustrates latter type of implementation i.e. non-factory fit outs. The add-on module preferably includes sensor(s)  910 , a control unit  908  and display unit(s)  904  with connecting wires  906 . The present invention can be attached to an existing baggage  902  by an individual and used same way as an in-built system. 
     There are many types of sensors which can be used to measure weight in weigh measuring scale system, such as; load cells, strain gauge, force sensitive resistors (FSRs), pressure sensitive resistors, etc.  FIG. 10  illustrates an example implementation using a single load cell  1006 . When a force  1010  is applied on certain points on load cell, its resistance changes. The way it works is that the upper surface of load cell expands  1012  while lower surface contracts  1014 . This slight expansion and contraction of material causes change in resistance which is measured by weigh measuring control unit  1002 . The base  1004  and top  1008  panels are used to support the load cell while also direct force at optimal points on it. Load cell, strain gauge, FSRs and pressure sensitive resistors have same underlying functional principles. 
     The advantage of the present invention include, without limitation, that it is portable and exceedingly easy to weigh baggage. It is easy to move around with these devices into a house or office or even travel to distant places, because they are relatively small &amp; lightweight. As these devices are in-built into the baggage, there is no need to carry additional weigh scales while travelling and no need to buy inconvenient weigh scales. Using this device requires a single person, as there is no need to lift a baggage in order to measure it. Furthermore, since the weigh scale is now in-built or assembled into the baggage, there is no need to worry about forgetting scales at home while travelling. 
     In broad embodiment, the present invention is a weigh-measuring scale in-built or assembled within a baggage or shipment containers or boxes. 
     While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.