Patent Publication Number: US-2017354217-A1

Title: Luggage

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates to luggage, particularly wheeled luggage. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A typical wheeled case includes a substantially cuboid shell, a set of wheels at one (“bottom”) face of the shell and a wheeling handle and a carrying handle at an opposite (“top”) face of the shell. The present invention seeks to provide an improved case. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a case according to claim  1 . Optional features are specified in the dependent claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described, byway of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a case with a handle in a wheeling position; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the case of  FIG. 1  with the handle in a carrying position; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates the case of  FIG. 1  in a partially open position; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the case of  FIG. 1  in a fully open position with an inner part in a first position; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates the case of  FIG. 1  in a fully open position with an inner part in an intermediate position; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates the case of  FIG. 1  in a fully open position with an inner part in a second position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a case  1  will now be described. 
     The case  1  includes a substantially cuboid shell  2  to which are attached a set of wheels  3  and a handle  4 . 
     The shell  2  comprises first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b . The first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  are connected to each other by a rotatable connection (represented by feature  5 ) to enable the shell  2  to be opened and closed. The rotatable connection  5  may include, for example, a set of hinges or a flexible part. A fastening device (not shown) is provided to enable the shell  2  to be fastened closed. The fastening device may include, for example, one or more catches or a zip. 
     The set of wheels  3  includes four wheels  3   1 ,  3   2 ,  3   3 ,  3   4  located on or near a (“lower”) face  6  of the shell  2 . The case  1  can be oriented (“upright”) such that the four wheels  3  are in contact with a primarily upwardly-facing surface (“floor”)  7  and the case  1  can be moved over the floor  7  on the wheels  3 . The case  1  can preferably be moved in any direction, for example by the wheels  3  being pivotably attached to the shell  2 . 
     In other examples, there may be different numbers of wheels  3 . For example, there may be two wheels  3 . In such an example, the upright orientation corresponds to a stable orientation in which the two wheels  3  are in contact with, or in the vicinity of, the floor  7 . From upright, such a case  1  can be tilted before being moved over the floor  7  on the two wheels  3 . 
     The handle  4  is preferably located on or near an (“upper”) face  8  of the shell  2  opposite to the lower face  6 . The handle  4  is movable relative to the shell  2  between at least a first (“wheeling”) position and a second (“carrying”) position. In  FIG. 1 , the handle  4  is shown in the wheeling position. In  FIG. 2 , the handle  4  is shown in the carrying position. The handle  4  is further from the shell  2  in the wheeling position than in the carrying position. Thus, in the wheeling position, the handle  4  can be more conveniently used to wheel the case  1 . For example, the handle  4  may be more than 10 cm or more than 20 cm or more than 30 cm or more than 40 cm from the shell  2  in the wheeling position. The handle  4  may be a distance of about 1 metre from the floor  7  when the handle  4  is in the wheeling position and the case  1  is upright. In the carrying position, the handle  4  can be more conveniently used to carry the case  1  off the floor  7 . For example, the handle  4  may be a distance of several centimetres from the (upper face  8  of the) shell  2  in the carrying position. The handle  4  is positioned substantially over the centre of gravity of the case  1  when the case  1  is in the upright position. By this, it is meant that the centre of the handle  4  is within 6 cm, more preferably within 3 cm, more preferably within 2 cm, more preferably within 1 cm and more preferably within 0.5 cm of a vertical line passing through the centre of gravity of the case  1  when the case  1  is in the upright position and when the case  1  is empty of additional contents. 
     The handle  4  is preferably attached to the remainder of the case  1  via a set of one or more elongate members (“stems”)  9 . In this example, there are two stems  9   1 , 9   2 . The stems  9  are extendable (e.g. telescopic) and/or are slidably attached to the remainder of the case  1  to enable the handle  4  to move between the wheeling and carrying positions. 
     The case  1  preferably includes a device (“latch”)  10  to releasably hold the handle  4  in the carrying position. With the case  1  upright and the handle  4  initially in the carrying position, applying a sufficient “lifting” force (i.e. in a direction away from the floor  7 ) to the handle will lift the case  1  off the floor  7  if the latch  10  is not released, and will cause the handle  4  to move to the wheeling position if the latch  10  is released. The latch  10  preferably automatically deploys to hold the handle  4  when the handle  4  returned to the carrying position. The latch  10  is preferably positioned relative to the handle  4  such that it can be operated by a user&#39;s hand (e.g. by a finger or thumb on that hand) when the handle  4  is in the carrying position without removing that hand from the handle  4 . For instance, the latch  10  may include first and second latch parts  10   a ,  10   b , one of which is attached to the handle  4  or to a stem  9  and the other of which is attached to the remainder of the case  1 . The first latch part  10   a  may include a movable part that is urged so as to engage with a corresponding part in the second latch part  10   b  when the handle  4  is in the carrying position, while a button can be used to disengage the parts  10   a ,  10   b.    
     Thus, a user can readily switch between carrying and wheeling the case  1  and preferably without removing their hand from the handle  4 . Because the handle  4  is positioned substantially over the centre of gravity of the case  1  when the case  1  is in the upright position, the case  1  does not tilt substantially during this switch which is therefore a particularly comfortable and safe procedure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 to 6 , further features  11  etc. of the case  1  will now be described. These further features  11  are optional.  FIG. 3  shows the case  1  positioned with a major face of the second shell part  2   b  on the floor  7  and in a partially open position. The case  1  has a substantially cuboid inner part  11  to which are attached the stems  9   1 ,  9   2  and, in this example, a part of the latch  10 . The inner part  11  preferably fits inside the shell  2 . The shell  2  is preferably provided with cut outs (not shown) to enable the stems  9   1 ,  9   2  etc. to pass through the shell  2  (and to enable the first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  and the inner part  11  to be rotated relative to one another as described below). The inner part  11  has an interior volume which houses those parts of the stems  9   1 ,  9   2  that need to be housed depending upon the position of the handle  4 . Thus, the stems  9   1 ,  9   2  do not interfere with any contents (clothes etc.) in the case  1 . 
     When the case  1  is closed, the inner part  11  preferably divides the volume inside the shell  2  into two parts, one of which (“the first volume”) is primarily within the first shell  2   a  and the other of which (“the second volume”) is primarily within the second shell  2   b . The inner part  11  is preferably held in such a position by, for example, the shape of the first and shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  or additional components of the case  1 . The inner part  11  is connected to the first and/or second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  by a rotatable connection (not shown). The first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  and the inner part  11  preferably all rotate relative to one another about substantially the same axis of rotation. For instance, the first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  may be connected to each other by a first set of hinges (not shown). One of the shell parts, e.g. the first shell part  2   a , and the inner part  11  may be connected to each other by a second set of hinges (not shown) aligned with the first set of hinges. 
     This alignment may be achieved by providing cut outs in the other shell part, e.g. the second shell part  2   b , to enable the second set of hinges to be connected, e.g. via connecting parts provided in the cut outs, to the inner part  11 . 
     The case  1  preferably includes a device (“catches”)  12 , e.g. ball catches, to releasably hold the inner part  11  in a substantially fixed (“first”) position relative to the first shell part  2   a  as the case is initially opened. Thus, when the case is opened as shown in  FIG. 3 , any contents contained in the first volume is held in place by the inner part  11 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the case in a fully open position with the inner part  11  still in the first position relative to the first shell part  2   a . In this first position (as in the partially open position shown in  FIG. 3 ), content can be packed into or unpacked from the second volume. 
       FIG. 5  shows the inner part  11  after it has been moved relative to the first shell part  2   b  (by a force to overcome the holding force of the catches) to an intermediate position. 
       FIG. 6  shows the inner part  11  after it has been moved to a second, resting position over the second volume. In this second position, content can be packed into or unpacked from the first volume. 
     In order to close the case  1 , the inner part  11  is moved from the second position back to the first position so that the catch  12  holds the inner part  11  and the first shell part  2   a  is then rotated relative the floor  7 , i.e. via the position shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Thus, the user can separately pack two volumes of the case  1 , which may be substantially equal, and the inner part  11  holds contents in place against gravity. Moreover, the second volume is revealed but the first volume is not revealed when the case  1  is initially opened and so a user can pack different contents in the different volumes according to different needs (e.g. accessibility, privacy). 
     The volume enclosed by the inner part  11  not taken up by housing the stems  9   1 ,  9   2  can be used to provide compartments which can be configured so that they are accessible when the inner part  11  is in the first and/or second positions. Thus, maximum use can be made of the volume inside the case  1 . 
     It will be appreciated that many modifications can be made to the embodiments described above. 
     For example, the case  1  need not be substantially cuboid and the shapes of the shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  and the inner part  11  may differ accordingly. The case  1  need not have the illustrated aspect ratio. 
     The inner part  11  need not completely divide the case  1  into the first and second volumes. For example, the inner part  11  may have cut outs connecting the first and second volumes and/or may only extend as far as is required to house the stems  9 . 
     The rotatable connection  5  may be provided on the upper or lower face  6 ,  8  of the shell  2  rather than on a different face as shown. 
     The inner part  11  need not fit fully inside the first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b . For instance, the inner part  11  may be sandwiched between the first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  so that it is visible at the exterior of the case  1 . In this case in particular, the first and second shell parts  2   a ,  2   b  and the inner part  11  need not all rotate relative to one another about substantially the same axis of rotation. 
     References to upright etc. apply in a corresponding way if the case is being used on inclined surface.