Patent Publication Number: US-2011048882-A1

Title: Detachable luggage

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to luggage and more particularly, to a detachable luggage that reduces storage space and allows replacement of its shell. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A regular luggage generally is composed of a top shell, a bottom shell, and a zip fastener. The top and bottom shells are hinged together by hinge means so that the top and bottom shells can be closed together and opened from each other. The zip fastener is provided between the top and bottom shells for opening/closing the luggage. The bottom shell is usually equipped with rollers and a retractable handle so that the user can carry the luggage on the floor smoothly with less effort. 
     A luggage enables a user to carry things conveniently. However, the luggage requires much storage space when it is not used and it is inconvenient to store a luggage in the limited house space. Further, after a long use, the shell of the luggage may be damaged or too dirty to use. When this problem occurs, the user may directly throw away the luggage, thus increasing the amount of garbage and environmental burden. Besides, the luggage usually has a fixed size, so a user cannot change the capacity of the luggage to fit different application requirements. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the primary of the present invention to provide a detachable luggage, which greatly reduces space storage when it is not used. 
     It is secondary objective of the present invention to provide a detachable luggage, whose shell is replaceable when it is damaged, thus reducing the amount of garbage and environmental burden. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a detachable luggage, whose shell can be replaced by those of different sizes for the user&#39;s convenience. 
     To achieve the foregoing objectives of the present invention, the detachable luggage comprises a top shell, a bottom shell, and a zip fastener. The top shell has a face wall and a peripheral wall extending from the border of the face wall. The bottom shell has a base wall and a peripheral wall extending from the border of the base wall. The zip fastener comprises an upper zipper tape affixed to the peripheral wall of the top shell, a bottom zipper tape affixed to the peripheral wall of the bottom shell, two retainer boxes, each of which is affixed to one of two distal ends of the bottom zipper tape, two insertion pins, each of which is affixed to one of two distal ends of the upper zipper tape and is inserted into one of the retainer boxes, and two slides slidably coupled between the upper zipper tape and the bottom zipper tape for joining the upper and bottom zipper tapes. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the detachable luggage in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the detachable luggage in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the detachable luggage in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the detachable luggage is opened. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the detachable luggage in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the top shell is separated from the bottom shell. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the detachable luggage in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the top shell is detached from the bottom shell and set inside the bottom shell. 
         FIG. 6  is a right side view of a detachable luggage in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a left side view of the detachable luggage in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a detachable luggage  10  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention is composed of a top shell  20 , a bottom shell  30 , and a zip fastener  40 . 
     The top shell  20  has a face wall  22 , a peripheral wall  24  extending from the border of the face wall  22 , and a foot member  26  located at the peripheral wall  24 . 
     The bottom shell  30  has a base wall  32 , a peripheral wall  34  extending from the border of the base wall  32 , two carrying handles  36  located at the peripheral wall  34 , two rollers  38  pivotally mounted to the peripheral wall  34  at one side, and a retractable handle  39  affixed to an opposite side of the peripheral wall  34  relative to the rollers  38 . 
     The zip fastener  40  includes an upper zipper tape  41 , a bottom zipper tape  42 , two retainer boxes  43 , two insertion pins  44 , two slides  45 , and two finger taps  46 . The upper zipper tape  41  is affixed to the border of the peripheral wall  24  of the top shell  20 , having two distal ends  411  disposed in proximity to each other and a plurality of teeth  412  arranged along its external edge. The bottom zipper tape  42  is affixed to the border of the peripheral wall  34  of the bottom shell  30 , having two distal ends  421  disposed in proximity to each other and a plurality of teeth  422  arranged along its external edge for engagement with the teeth  412 . 
     The two retainer boxes  43  are respectively affixed to the two distal ends  421  of the bottom zipper tape  42 . The two insertion pins  44  are respectively affixed to the two distal ends  411  of the upper zipper tape  41  for insertion into the retainer boxes  43  respectively. Alternatively, the retainer boxes  43  can be respectively affixed to the two distal ends  411  of the upper zipper tape  41 , and the insertion pins  44  can be respectively affixed to the two distal ends  421  of the bottom zipper tape  42  for insertion into the retainer boxes  43 . 
     The two slides  45  are slidably coupled between the upper zipper tape  41  and the bottom zipper tape  42  to join the upper zipper tape  41  and the bottom zipper tape  42  together. When one of the slides  45  is moved along one direction, the teeth  412  of the upper zipper tape  41  and the teeth  422  of the bottom zipper tape  42  are interlocked. On the contrary, when one of the slides  45  is moved along the other direction, the teeth  412  and  422  are separated from each other. 
     The two finger taps  46  are respectively affixed to the two distal ends  411  of the upper zipper tape  41  to facilitate the user&#39;s inserting the insertion pin  44  into the corresponding retainer box  43 . The finger taps  46  are not absolutely requisite but optional elements in the present invention. 
     The use of the detachable luggage  10  is same as that of a regular luggage. When the slides  45  are moved in reverse directions to the positions shown in  FIG. 3  respectively, the top shell  20  can be opened from the bottom shell  30  so that the user can store things in the detachable luggage  10  or take things out of the detachable luggage  10 . When the slides  45  are moved to the two distal ends  411  of the upper zipper tape  41  or the two distal ends  421  of the bottom zipper tape  42  respectively, the insertion pins  44  can then be detached from the retainer boxes  43 , for enabling the top shell  20  to be separated from the bottom shell  30 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     After separation of the top shell  20  from the bottom shell  30 , the top shell  20  can be put into the bottom shell  30  to reduce storage space of the detachable luggage  10 . Further, if the top shell  20  is damaged or too dirty to use, the user can purchase a new top shell  20  to substitute for the damaged top shell without throwing away the whole luggage, thereby saving a lot of costs and reducing the garbage amount and environmental burden. Besides, another of the top shell  20  having a different size can be connected with the bottom shell  30  to constitute a luggage having a different capacity for convenience in use and requirements in different applications. 
     Based on the spirit of the present invention, the structure of the detachable luggage may be modified. For example, there can be two of the zip fasteners instead of one single zip fastener. According to a second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a detachable luggage  50  includes a top shell  52 , a bottom shell  54 , and two zip fasteners  56 . Each of the zip fasteners  56  includes an upper zipper tape  58  installed in the top shell  52 , a bottom zipper tape  60  installed in the bottom shell  54 , a retainer box  62  located on a first end  601  of the bottom zipper tape  60 , an insertion pin  64  located on a first end  581  of the upper zipper tape  58  and coupled to the retainer box  62 , a slide  66  slidably coupled between the upper zipper tape  58  and the bottom zipper tape  60  for joining the upper zipper tape  58  and the bottom zipper tape  60  together, two end pieces  68  respectively affixed to a second end  582  of the upper zipper tape  58  and a second end  602  of the bottom zipper tape  60 , and a finger tap  70  located on the first end  581  of the upper zipper tape  58  and adjacent to the insertion pin  64 . The upper zipper tapes  58  of the two zip fasteners  56  have the respective first ends  581  abutting against each other and the respective second ends  582  abutting against each other, i.e. the two zip fasteners  56  are arranged into a loop. When the two zip fasteners  56  are fastened up, the detachable luggage  50  is closed. On the contrary, when the two zip fasteners  56  are unfastened and the two insertion pins  64  are detached from the two retainer boxes  62 , the top shell  52  can be separated from the bottom shell  54 . 
     Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.