Patent Publication Number: US-7213692-B2

Title: Carry-on baggage container with a folding chair

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a carry-on baggage container with a folding chair, and more particularly to a carry-on bag or trunk provided with a folding chair that may be pivotally turned relative to the bag or trunk to an extended position for use at any time at any place. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A traveler, either a tourist or a businessman, would usually have one or more containers, such as trunks, knapsacks or bags, for carry-on baggage. These carry-on baggage containers are normally very heavy with various kinds of articles loaded therein. Many currently available carry-on baggage containers are equipped with wheels to allow easy movement of them effortlessly. 
   Even if the currently available carry-on baggage containers are equipped with wheels and can be effortlessly moved around, they are still a burden to the traveler, particular a traveler on a long-distant trip or a transit passenger, who is very tired at the end of the travel, and hardly has strength to handle the carry-on baggage. 
   Frequently, a traveler also has to wait for boarding in the waiting room for a considerably long time, particularly at an airport that executes strict passenger inspection and requires passengers to check in as early as possible. And, it is apparent an unpleasant experience to wait in a crowded waiting room and can hardly find a seat to take a rest. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A primary object of the present invention is to provide a carry-on baggage container with a folding chair, so that a traveler may pivotally turn the folding chair relative to the baggage container to an extended position for use conveniently. 
   To achieve the above and other objects, the carry-on baggage container of the present invention is provided on one surface with a folding chair, which includes a base portion fixedly attached to the container surface, a seat portion pivotally connected at an end to a top of the base portion, and a leg portion pivotally connected at an upper end to a front crossbar of the seat portion. The leg portion includes two slant stays pivotally connected at outer ends to two lateral sides of the leg portion and at inner ends to a first end of a central bar, of which a second end is pivotally connected to a rear crossbar of the seat portion. The folding chair is normally in a folded position flatly attached to the surface of the baggage container and can be readily turned to an extended position for use. 
   In an operable embodiment of the present invention, the folding chair on the carry-on baggage container is located in covers provided with zippers. 
   In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first end of the central bar is a flat section of a predetermined length, and the inner ends of the two slant stays are flat and bent sections adapted to pivotally connect to the flat section of the central bar. And, a locating ring is movably put on the flat section of the central bar, and a stopper is fixedly provided at an outmost point of the flat section. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a carry-on baggage container with a folding chair according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a partially phantom view of  FIG. 1  showing the folding chair is located inside chair covers that are shown with phantom lines; 
       FIG. 3  shows the first step of extending a seat portion of the folding chair provided on the carry-on baggage container of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  shows a leg portion of the folding chair of  FIG. 3  is pulled to an extended position; 
       FIG. 5  shows the seat and leg portions of the folding chair of  FIG. 4  are held to the extended position; 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of the circled area in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of the circled area in  FIG. 5 ; and 
       FIG. 8  shows the folding chair on the carry-on baggage container of  FIG. 1  is in the extended position for use. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Please refer to  FIG. 1  that is a perspective view of a carry-on baggage container  10  with a folding chair  20  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The carry-on baggage container  10  is a traveling case or trunk provided with wheels  11  and can therefore be easily pulled by and carried along with a user. In the present invention, the carry-on baggage container  10  is provided at one surface  12  (it is a rear surface of the baggage container  10  in the illustrated embodiment) with a folding chair  20 , which is normally folded to flatly attach to the rear surface  12  of the baggage container  10 . That is, when the folding chair  20  is not in use, it is in a folded position flatly bearing against the rear surface  12 . In the illustrated embodiment, different parts of the folding chair  20  are received in covers  21 ,  22  that are provided with zippers or other functionally equivalent fastening means, so that the zippers may be pulled to open the covers  21 ,  22  by predetermined lengths to allow turning of the folding chair  20  to an extended position for use. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 2  that is a partially phantom view of  FIG. 1  to show different parts of the folding chair  20  received in the covers  21 ,  22 . As shown, the folding chair  20  includes a base portion  30 , a seat portion  40 , and a leg portion  50 . The base portion  30  is a substantially open-topped U-shaped frame, two lateral bars of which are fixedly connected to two wheel mounts  13 ,  14  on two rear lower corners of the baggage container  10  via two connecting sleeves  31 ,  32 , so that the base portion  30  is flatly attached to the rear surface  12  of the carry-on baggage container  10 . 
   The seat portion  40  is also a U-shaped frame having an overall width slightly larger than that of the base portion  30 , so that free ends of two lateral bars of the U-shaped seat portion  40  are pivotally turnably connected to upper ends of the U-shaped base portion  30  at two pivoting points  33 ,  34 , allowing the whole seat portion  40  to turn about the pivoting points  33 ,  34  between a folded position, in which the seat portion  40  flatly bears against the rear surface  12  of the baggage container  10 , and an extended position, in which the seat portion  40  is in a horizontal plane normal to the rear surface  12  for use. A rear crossbar  41  is connected to and extended between the two lateral bars of the seat portion  40  near the free ends thereof. 
   The leg portion  50  includes a U-shaped frame having an overall width smaller than that of the base portion  30 . Free ends of two lateral bars of the leg portion  50  are pivotally turnably connected to a front crossbar of the U-shaped seat portion  40 , so that the leg portion  50  may be movably laid between the two lateral bars of the seat portion  40 . The leg portion  50  includes two slant stays  51 ,  52 , two outer ends of which are pivotally turnably connected to the two lateral bars of the U-shaped frame of the leg portion  50 , while two inner ends of the slant stays  51 ,  52  are pivotally connected to a first end of a central bar  53 , a second end of which opposite to the first end is pivotally connected to the rear crossbar  41  of the seat portion  40 . 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 2 ,  4 , and  6  at the same time. In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined length of the central bar  53  of the leg portion  50  extended from the first end thereof is formed into a flat section  54 , to which two inner ends  55 ,  56  of the slant stays  51 ,  52  are pivotally connected. It is noted the inner ends of the two slant stays  51 ,  52  are two flat and bent sections  55 ,  56  with a predetermined angle contained between them and the rest parts of the slant stays  51 ,  52 . A locating ring  57  is movably put on the flat section  54  of the central bar  53 , and a stopper  58  is fixedly provided at an outmost point of the flat section  54 . 
   To use the folding chair  20  provided on the carry-on baggage container  10 , first turn the seat portion  40  about the pivoting points  33 ,  34  to outward locate it in a plane approximately normal to the rear surface  12  of the baggage container  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Then, pivotally turn the leg portion  50  to locate it below the seat portion  40 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . While the leg portion  50  is pulled to extend from the seat portion  40 , the flat section  54  of the central bar  53  is moved from a position projected from the flat and bent sections  55 ,  56  of the two slant stays  21 ,  22 , respectively, as shown in  FIG. 6 , to a position parallelly located between the two flat and bent inner sections  55 ,  56  of the two slant stays  51 ,  52  to align with them, as shown in  FIG. 7 . At this point, the locating ring  57  can be moved to locate around the aligned flat sections  54 ,  55 , and  56 , and abut against the stopper  58 , holding the seat and the leg portion  40 ,  50  to a fixed position relative to the base portion  30 , as can be most clearly seen from  FIGS. 5 and 8 . The folding chair  20  in the outward extended position shown in  FIGS. 5 and 8  is ready for use. To return the folding chair  20  to the folded position flatly attached to the rear surface  12  of the baggage container  10  when the chair is not in use, simply do the above movements reversely. 
   With the folding chair  20  provided on the carry-on baggage container  10  in the above-described manner, a traveler may conveniently sit down and take a rest at any time at any place simply by pulling the seat and the leg portions to the extended position for use. 
   The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is to be limited only by the appended claims.