Patent Publication Number: US-11019895-B2

Title: Luggage case and case body structure thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part, and claims priority, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/210,043 filed on Jul. 14, 2016, entitled “LUGGAGE CASE AND CASE BODY STRUCTURE THEREOF”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a luggage case and a case body structure thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     To conveniently carry various objects for traveling or house moving, luggage cases are some of the first choices for loading objects. The most eye-catching part of a luggage case is the case body of the luggage case, which is much targeted by many consumers when a luggage case is chosen and purchased. Some main factors that consumers consider include the size and the outer appearance of the case body. For example, current luggage case structures are as disclosed by the Taiwan Patent Nos. 404193 and No. M332408, the China Patent No. 202456880, the U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0224608, and the European Patent No. 2873342A1, and have case bodies that are categorized based on the type of materials used. Current case body structures are chiefly categorized into two types—made of a textile fabric, and made of a plastic material in a formed integral. 
     Luggage cases made of textile fabrics eliminate costs for developing and manufacturing molds, with however large amounts of manpower and textile machinery required as a trade-off, leading to overall costs that cannot be lowered due to manpower costs and disfavored mass production. Further, for luggage cases implemented by plastic materials, although they can be mass produced once large sums of mold costs are invested at the beginning of the development and manufacturing process, the molds made are strictly limited to the use of one single product. In the event of slow sales in the manufactured luggage cases, these molds become unsuitable and need to be discarded. In addition, the manufacturer needs to invest another round of mold costs needed for a launching another product. The cycle above may lead to not only increased costs for the manufacturer but also waste in resources. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to solve issues of a conventional luggage case manufacturing method. 
     To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a case body structure of a luggage case. The case body structure of a luggage case includes a case top member, a case bottom member and a sidewall member. Each of the case top member and the case bottom member is a hard structure. The sidewall member includes a wall plate and a cover plate. The wall plate includes a connecting section, two installation sections respectively integrally extended from two opposite lateral sides of the connecting section and perpendicular to the connecting section, and an installation breach defined and formed by the two installation sections. The cover plate corresponds to the installation breach, and is disposed on the two installation sections. The cover plate and the wall plate define a hollow cavity. Each of the case top member, the case bottom member and the sidewall member is an independent component. The case top member and the case bottom member are respectively disposed at two ends of the sidewall member to enclose the hollow cavity. The cover plate selectively opens relative to the wall plate to allow an object to be placed into or taken out of the hollow cavity. 
     In one embodiment, the width of the connecting section of the wall plate is greater than the width of each of the installation sections, and the width of the installation breach is smaller than or equal to the width of the connecting section and greater than the width of each of the installation sections. 
     In one embodiment, the wall plate includes a support element and a flexible outer layer clad on the support element. The flexible outer layer is assembled to the case top member and the case bottom member. Two ends of the support element are respectively abutted against the case top member and the case bottom member to cause the flexible outer layer to be tightened relative to the support element. 
     In one embodiment, each of the case top member and the case bottom member includes an assembly groove for abutting and connecting with the sidewall member. 
     In one embodiment, the flexible outer layer is selected from the group consisting of textile, nylon, leather and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). 
     In one embodiment, the wall plate is a formed integral made of a hard plastic material. 
     In one embodiment, the case body structure further includes at least two suture shutters. Each of the suture shutters is disposed at a seam of the case top member and the sidewall member or the case bottom member and the sidewall member, and includes a connecting portion being deep into the seam and a shutter portion integrally extended from the connecting portion and protruding out of the seam. 
     The present invention further provides a luggage case, which applies one of the case body structures of the foregoing embodiments. The luggage case further includes a pull handle and a pull handle positioning module. The pull handle is assembled to the case body structure. The pull handle positioning module includes a support sleeve disposed on the case top member and causing the pull handle to be inserted therein and to be able to perform a back-and-forth movement, and a limiting element disposed in the support sleeve and limiting or allowing the pull handle to perform the back-and-forth movement relative to the support sleeve. 
     In one embodiment, the case top member includes an installation opening in communication with the hollow cavity and allowing the support sleeve to be correspondingly disposed therein. The support sleeve is further located in the hollow cavity. 
     In one embodiment, the luggage case further includes a plurality of rollers disposed on the case bottom member. The case body member includes a plurality of assembly holes, which are in a quantity corresponding to the rollers and are respectively assembled with the rollers. 
     In one embodiment, the pull handle includes an outer tube assembled to the case body structure, and an inner tube inserted in the outer tube and capable of stretching and retracting relative to the outer tube. 
     In one embodiment, each of the plurality of rollers includes a roller frame, two roller plates assembled with the roller frame, and a mounting post connected to the roller frame and threaded through one of the plurality of assembly holes for mounting on the case bottom member. 
     In one embodiment, each of the mounting posts is formed with an assembly groove, the case bottom member includes a plurality of sockets respectively forming the assembly holes, and a plurality of quick disassemble components respectively corresponding to the plurality of sockets and assembled with the mounting post of one of the plurality of rollers. Each of the plurality of quick disassemble components includes a spring and a clamping plate connected to the spring, each of the clamping plates includes a through hole for providing one of the mounting posts to thread through, one end of each of the springs is pushed on one of the plurality of sockets, and another end of the springs is pushed against one of the clamping plates correspondingly disposed. Each of the clamping plates has a clamping state in which one of the springs pushes to cause an edge of the through hole to be placed in the assembly groove to prohibit one of the plurality of rollers from detaching from the case bottom member, and a release state in which an external force pushes to compress one of the springs to disengage the clamping plate from the assembly groove so that one of the rollers is capable of detaching from the case bottom member. 
     In one embodiment, each of the clamping plates comprises a connecting plate formed with the through hole and connected to one of the springs, and an operating rod connected to the connecting plate. 
     In one embodiment, each of the plurality of sockets includes a rail that provides one of the clamping plates to be disposed and the clamping plate is able to slide in the rail. 
     In one embodiment, each of the plurality of sockets includes a block plate disposed at an end of the rail adjacent to the sidewall member and providing for one end of one of the springs to abut against. 
     In one embodiment, each of the plurality of sockets includes a spring accommodating groove disposed at an end of the rail adjacent to the block plate and an operating rod accommodating groove disposed at an end of the rail not provided with the spring accommodating groove. 
     In one embodiment, the case bottom member comprises a plurality of covers disposed correspondingly to the plurality of sockets to shield one of the rails. 
     Through the above technical solution, the present invention provides following features as opposed to the prior art: 
     The Applicant of the application considers that the size, as well as the outer appearance and design, are determined by the size and pattern of the case body structure instead of the design of a top surface or a bottom surface of the case body structure. Therefore, in the present invention, the case body structure is formed by the case top member, the case bottom member and the sidewall member that are independent components. During development and manufacturing, only one-time molds need to be made for the case top member and the case bottom member and may serve as universal parts. Thus, when a new product is developed, only the mold for the sidewall member needs to be manufactured, hence reducing unnecessary waste and development and manufacturing costs as well as enhancing market competitiveness. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an appearance schematic diagram of a structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a luggage case not provided with a cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a wall plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial schematic diagram of a case top member and a sidewall member according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial schematic diagram of a case top member and a sidewall member according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial schematic diagram of a case top member and a sidewall member according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded view of a case bottom member and rollers according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a partially exploded view of the case bottom member according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the structure of the roller according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Details and technical contents of the present invention are given with the accompanying drawings below. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 , the present invention provides a luggage case and a case body structure thereof. The case body structure  1  includes a case top member  11 , a case bottom member  12  and a sidewall member  13 . Each of the case top member  11 , the case bottom member  12  and the sidewall member  13  is an independent component. That is, the case top member  11 , the case bottom member  12  and the sidewall member  13  are individually manufactured, and are not a formed integral. Further, each of the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  is a hard structure, which may be made of a plastic material such as polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12  may be a formed integral made by machinery processing. The case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  may be corresponding structure designs based on actual requirements to bear an expect load weight, so as to prevent the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12  from deformation during a weight bearing process. 
     The sidewall member  13  includes a wall plate  14  and a cover plate  15 . The wall plate  14  in overall appears substantially U-shaped, as shown in  FIG. 4 . The wall plate  14  includes a connecting section  141 , two installation sections  142  respectively integrally extended from two opposite lateral sides of the connecting section  141  and perpendicular to the connecting section  141 , and an installation breach  143  defined and formed by the two installation sections  142 . Further, the wall plate  14  may be designed with at least one recessed pattern or protruding block according to esthetic requirements. The cover plate  15  corresponds to the installation breach  143  and is disposed on the two installation sections  142 , and the cover plate  15  and the wall plate  14  define a hollow cavity  16  when assembled. Two ends of the hollow cavity  16  are not shielded and appear as a through formed. That is, when not assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 , the sidewall member  13  appears as a through form with two open ends. To assemble the case body structure  1 , the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  are respectively disposed correspondingly to the two open ends of the sidewall member  13  to enclose the two ends of the sidewall member  13 , thereby completing the case body structure  1  of the present invention. Further, the cover plate  15  is assembled to the wall plate  14  by a zipper (not shown), such that the cover plate  15  may selectively open or close relative to the wall plate  14 . When the cover plate  15  opens relative to the wall plate  14 , an object may be placed into or taken out of the hollow cavity  16 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in the present invention, the width of the connecting section  141  of the wall plate  14  is greater than the width of each of the installation sections  142 , and the width of the installation breach  143  is smaller than or equal to the width of the connecting section  141  but greater than the width of each of the installation sections  142 . For example but not limited to, the wall plate  14  and the cover plate  15  may be implemented by a hard plastic material. Please refer to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 7 , in one embodiment, the wall plate  14  includes a support element  144  and a flexible outer layer  145  clad on the support element  144 . The flexible outer layer  145  has an appropriate flexibility to be appropriately stretched, and is selected from the group consisting of textile, nylon, leather and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Further, the flexible outer layer  145  is assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 , and a remaining length of the part of the flexible outer layer  145  after the flexible outer layer  145  is assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  is smaller than the length of the support element  144 . When two ends of the support element  144  are respectively abutted against the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 , the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  are spaced by a distance, owing to which the flexible outer layer  145  is caused be tightened relative to the support element  144 . Further, when the flexible outer layer  145  is tightened, the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 , under the effect of the flexible outer layer  145 , are more stably pressed upon the support element  144 , such that better assembly effects among the components of the case body structure  1  are achieved. 
     In the present invention, since the sidewall member  13  is not a formed integral with the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12 , a manufacturer or a consumer may select different patterns or materials for the sidewall member  13  according to designs or preferences. Further, with the present invention, a manufacturer is required to only replace the mold of the sidewall member  13  when launching a new product, hence innovating a conventional implementation of replacing an entire set of molds for a new product when a manufacturer launches the new product. 
     In one embodiment, respective ends of the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  predetermined to be assembled to the sidewall member  13  are provided with assembly grooves  111  and  121  for abutting and connecting with the sidewall member  13 . The assembly grooves  111  and  121  may further surround the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12 . However, in an assembly process, the sidewall member  13  may be assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  by aligning with the assembly grooves  111  and  121 . As such, the sidewall member  13  is substantially positioned to effectively support the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in the present invention, the fastening between the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12  and the sidewall member  13  may be achieved through a stitching method. As known from foregoing embodiments, only after the flexible outer layer  145  is assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12 , the sidewall member  13  is then assembled to the support element  144 . The flexible outer layer  145  may be assembled to the case top member  11  and the case bottom member  12  through stitching (as shown by the stitching position  20  in  FIG. 5 ), and the assembly of the support element  144  may then be performed after the flexible outer layer  145  is completely assembled. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , in another embodiment, the wall plate  14  may be implemented by a hard structure, and after the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12  is assembled to the sidewall member  13 , an overlapping region of the two components assembled to each other may be stitched to produce a securing effect. To more substantially implement stitching, the thickness of the sidewall member  13  of the present invention is selected to meet an appropriate support strength and to be within a range that can be stitched. Further, the stitching position  20  of the case top member  11  or the case bottom member  12  may also be correspondingly designed to facilitate the implementation of stitching. Further, to optimize the esthetic appearance after the stitching process, the case body structure  1  further includes at least two suture shutters  17 . Each of the suture shutters  17  is disposed at a seam  21  of the case top member  11  and the sidewall member  13  or the case bottom member  12  and the sidewall member  13 , and includes a connecting portion  171  being deep into the seam  21  and a shutter portion  172  integrally extended from the connecting portion  171  and protruding out of the seam  21 . During the implementation of the stitching process, while the case top member  11  (or the case bottom member  12 ) is aligned with the sidewall member  13 , the connecting portion  171  of one of the suture shutters  17  is correspondingly placed at the seam  21  between the case top member  11  (or the case bottom member  12 ) and the sidewall member  13 , such that the shutter portion  172  protrudes from the seam  21  and is revealed at an outer side of the sidewall member  13 . The case top member  11  (or the case bottom member  12 ), the connecting portion  171  of one of the suture shutters  17  and the sidewall member  13  are stitched to secure the three through stitching. Then, the shutter portion  172  is used to cover the stitching position  20  to polish the overall appearance of the case body structure  1 . Further, in the present invention, each of the suture shutters  17  is a formed integral made from a soft plastic material. Further, the technical solution of implementing the two suture shutters  17  may be applied to the embodiment of the wall plate  14  including the support element  144  and the flexible outer layer  145 , with associated details shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Again referring to  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 , in addition to the foregoing case body structure  1 , the present invention further discloses a luggage case  9 . The luggage case  9  applies the case body structure  1  disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiments, and further includes a pull handle  3  and a pull handle positioning module  4 . The pull handle  3  is assembled with the case body structure  1 . The pull handle positioning module  4  includes a support sleeve  41  disposed on the case top member  11 , and a limiting element (not shown) disposed in the support sleeve  41 . The support sleeve  41  may be installed at an outer edge of the case top member  11  or inside the hollow cavity  16 . Further, the case top member  11  may include an installation opening  113  in communication with the hollow cavity  16  and allowing the support sleeve  41  to be correspondingly disposed at an inner edge of the case top member  11  and an opening  114  provided for the pull handle  3  to pass through. Further, the support sleeve  41  allows the pull handle  3  to be installed therein, such that the pull handle  3  is capable of performing a back-and-forth movement relative to the support sleeve  41 , i.e., the pull handle  3  is capable of performing drawing and pulling operations relative to the support sleeve  41 . Further, apart from being disposed in the support sleeve  41 , the limiting element further allows the pull handle  3  to be inserted and disposed therein, or limits or allows the pull handle  3  to perform the back-and-forth movement relative to the support sleeve  41 . In addition, the luggage case  9  further includes a plurality of rollers  5 , which are disposed at an outer edge of the case bottom member  12  and distributed at four corners of the case bottom member  12 . Further, the case bottom member  12  includes a plurality of assembly holes  123  respectively corresponding to the plurality of rollers  5  and respectively assembled to the rollers  5 . Referring to  FIGS. 8, 9, and 10  together, each of the plurality of rollers  5  comprises a roller frame  51 , two roller plates  52  assembled with the roller frame  51 , and a mounting post  53  connected to the roller frame  51  and threaded through one of the plurality of assembly holes  123  for mounting on the case bottom member  12 . Further, each of the mounting posts  53  is formed with an assembly groove  531 . The case bottom member  12  includes a plurality of sockets  124  respectively forming the plurality of assembly holes  123  and a plurality of quick disassemble components  125  respectively corresponding to the plurality of sockets  124  and assembled with the mounting post  53  of one of the plurality of rollers  5 . Further, each of the plurality of quick disassemble components  125  includes a spring  126  and a clamping plate  127  connected to the spring  126 . The extending direction of each of the clamping plates  127  is perpendicular to the extending direction of each of the plurality of assembly holes  123 . Each of the clamping plates  127  includes a through hole  128  for providing one of the mounting posts  53  to thread through. That is, the through hole  128  of each of the clamping plates  127  is communicated with the assembly hole  123 . On the other hand, one end of each of the springs  126  is pushed on one of the plurality of sockets  124 , and another end of the springs  126  is pushed against one of the clamping plates  127  correspondingly disposed. Each of the springs  126  normally pushes against one of the clamping plates  127 , such that the clamping plate  127  is located at an edge of the through hole  128  to interfere with the assembly hole  123 . Therefore, each of the clamping plates  127  has a clamping state in which one of the springs  126  pushes to cause the edge of the through hole  128  to be placed in the assembly groove  531  to prohibit one of the plurality of rollers  5  from detaching from the case bottom member  12 , and a release state in which an external force pushes to compress one of the springs  126  to disengage the clamping plate  127  from the assembly groove  531  so that one of the plurality of rollers  5  is capable of detaching from the case bottom member  12 . Specifically, when one of the plurality of rollers  5  is inserted into one of the assembly holes  123 , one of the clamping plates  127  to be assembled is first brought into the release state, so that the mounting post  53  of the roller  5  is able to pass through one of the assembly holes  123 . Thus, when the roller  5  is assembled, the assembly groove  531  of the mounting post  53  on the roller  5  will be horizontally disposed with the clamping plate  127 . When the clamping plate  127  is switched from the released state to the clamping state, the clamping plate  127  is located at the edge of the through hole  128  and enters the assembly groove  531 , so that the roller  5  cannot be separated from the case bottom member  12 . Moreover, each of the clamping plates  127  of the present invention prohibits the separation of one of the plurality of rollers  5  from the case bottom member  12 , but does not restrict the rotation of the roller  5  relative to the case bottom member  12 . It is because that each of the clamping plates  127  is connected to the mounting post  53  of one of the plurality of rollers  5  in a clamping manner, and each of the clamping plates  127  slides along the assembly groove  531  when one of the plurality of rollers  5  rotates. Furthermore, when one of the plurality of rollers  5  is damaged and needed to be replaced, the roller  5  can be separated from the case bottom member  12  simply by switching the corresponding holding pieces  127  into the released state again. In addition to the foregoing, the present invention allows the plurality of rollers  5  to be quickly assembled while manufacturing the luggage case  9 . Besides, in an embodiment, the through hole  128  of each of the clamping pieces  127  further includes a square hole portion  187  and a semicircular hole portion  188  connected to the square hole portion  187 . The shape of the semicircular hole portion  188  is substantially corresponding to the shape of the mounting post  53  at the assembly groove  531 . When each of the clamping plates  127  is in the clamping state, the semicircular hole portion  188  of the through hole  128  is located in one of the assembly grooves  531 . 
     Further referring to  FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 , in one embodiment, each of the clamping plates  127  comprises a connecting plate  129  formed with the through hole  128  and connected to one of the springs  126 , and an operating rod  180  connected to the connecting plate  129 . Further, the connecting plate  129  is provided with at least one protruding column  181  on a side connected to one of the springs  126 . The protruding column  181  provides one of the springs  126  disposed thereon. Referring to  FIG. 9 , in one embodiment, each of the plurality of sockets  124  includes a rail  182  that provides one of the clamping plates  127  to be disposed and the clamping plate  127  is able to slide in the rail  182 . The rail  182  is formed by a recess on the plurality of sockets  124 . Further, each of the plurality of sockets  124  includes a block plate  183  disposed at an end of the rail  182  adjacent to the sidewall member  13  and providing for one end of one of the springs  126  to abut against. In one embodiment, each of the plurality of sockets  124  includes a spring accommodating groove  184  disposed at an end of the rail  182  adjacent to the block plate  183  and an operating rod accommodating groove  185  disposed at an end of the rail  182  not provided with the spring accommodating groove  184 , wherein the spring accommodating groove  184  provides the spring  126  to be placed therein, and the operating rod accommodating groove  185  provides the operating rod  180  to be placed therein, and the size of the operating rod accommodating groove  185  is required to conform to at least the displacement of the operating rod  180 . Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , in one embodiment, the case bottom member  12  further includes a plurality of covers  186  respectively corresponding to the plurality of sockets  124  for shielding one of the rails  182 . The assembly strength between the plurality of covers  186  and the plurality of sockets  124  may be increased through a plurality of assembly components (not shown). Please refer to  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 , in one embodiment, the pull handle  3  further includes an outer tube  31  assembled to the case body structure  1 , and an inner tube  32  inserted in the outer tube  31  and capable of stretching and retracting relative to the outer tube  31 . In other words, when the pull handle  3  is pulled and drawn by a consumer, the inner tube  32  slides relative to the outer tube  31  to protrude out of the outer tube  31  for the consumer to push or pull. Then, after releasing the limitation of the limiting element on the pull handle  3 , the consumer may apply a force to push the inner tube  32  towards the outer tube  31  to retract the inner tube  32  back into the outer tube  31 .