Patent Publication Number: US-10327523-B2

Title: Collapsible luggage

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201620517522.3, filed on May 31, 2016. 
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a luggage, and more particularly to a collapsible luggage including a rigid base. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Luggages or suitcases are often used for carrying personal items or articles, and for protecting the personal items or articles from damage when subjected to an external impact force. Therefore, a conventional luggage typically includes an integrally-formed hard shell that constitutes a body of the conventional luggage. However, the conventional luggage has a fixed volume and normally occupies a considerable amount of space, which is inconvenient when it comes to storage or transport of the conventional luggage. 
     To resolve this issue, collapsible luggages with adjustable volume size are designed, such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050016310, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6604617B2 and 7849984B2. A conventional collapsible luggage typically includes a bottom part which is collapsible such that a distance between opposite front and rear parts of the conventional collapsible luggage is adjustable, and a volume of the conventional collapsible luggage can be reduced. However, since the bottom part of the conventional collapsible luggage is adapted to bear weight of the personal items or articles received in the conventional collapsible luggage, and is adapted for a plurality of wheels or a standing frame to be mounted thereon, the configuration of the bottom part being collapsible adversely affects the structural strength of the conventional collapsible luggage. Furthermore, since the rear part of the conventional collapsible luggage is typically mounted with a telescopic rod and is thus uncollapsible, and since an area of the rear part is typically larger than that of the bottom part, the conventional collapsible luggage still occupies a considerable amount of space even when the bottom part is collapsed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a collapsible luggage that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior arts. 
     According to the disclosure, the collapsible luggage includes a rigid base, a plurality of wheel members, a flexible body, and a telescopic rod unit. The rigid base includes a base wall, and a surrounding wall that extends upwardly from the base wall, that has two short edges and two long edges interconnecting the short edges, and that, cooperates with the base wall to define a receiving space. The wheel members are disposed on a bottom surface of the base wall. The flexible body includes two side segments that are respectively connected to the snort edges of the surrounding wall, and opposite front and rear segments that are respectively connected to the long edges of the surrounding wall and that interconnect the side segments. The telescopic rod unit is disposed on the flexible body, and has a pivot end that is pivotally connected to one of the short and long edges of the surrounding wall. The telescopic rod unit is pivotable relative to the one of the short and long edges between an unfolded position and a folded position. 
     When the telescopic rod unit is at the unfolded position, the telescopic rod unit is substantially perpendicular to the base wall, and the flexible body is expanded so that the flexible body and the base cooperatively define an accommodating space, and that the collapsible luggage is transformed to an expanded state. 
     When the telescopic rod unit is at the folded position, the flexible body is collapsed, and the telescopic rod unit and the flexible body are received in the receiving space of the base so that the collapsible luggage is transformed to a collapsed state. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a collapsible luggage according to the disclosure, illustrating the collapsible luggage in an expanded state and a grip of a telescopic rod unit of the collapsible luggage at an extended position; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a base, multiple wheel members and the telescopic rod unit of the embodiment, illustrating the telescopic rod unit at an unfolded position and the grip at a retracted position; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating the collapsible luggage in the expanded state and a front segment of a flexible body of the embodiment being opened; 
         FIG. 4  is a partly sectional side view of the embodiment, illustrating a reinforcing board of a reinforcing unit being folded when the collapsible luggage is transformed between the expanded state and a collapsed state; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic side view of the embodiment, illustrating the collapsible luggage at the collapsed state; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating an elastic strap of a restraining device of the collapsible luggage restraining the telescopic rod unit and a flexible body of the collapsible luggage when the collapsible luggage is at the collapsed state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a collapsible luggage according to the disclosure includes a rigid base  100 , a plurality of wheel members  200 , a flexible body  400 , a zipper  800 , a telescopic rod unit  300 , a first reinforcing unit  500 , a second reinforcing unit  600 , and a restraining device  700 . 
     With further reference to  FIG. 2 , the base  100  includes a base wall  110 , and a surrounding wall  120  that extends upwardly from the base wail  110 , and that has two short edges  121  and two long edges  122  interconnecting the short edges  121 . The base wail  110  and the surrounding wall  120  cooperatively define a receiving space  910  therein. The base  100  is made by injection molding using a plastic material selected from, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin. Alternatively, the base  100  is made by compression molding using a metal such as aluminum, or iron, etc. The base  100  is integrally formed as one piece and is rigid in structure. 
     The wheel members  200  are disposed on a bottom surface of the base wall  110 . In this embodiment, the number of the wheel members  200  is four. In certain embodiments, the number of the wheel members  200  may be two, three, or greater than four, with no particular restriction thereto. 
     In this embodiment, a distance between a top surface of the base  100  and a bottom end of any of the wheel members  200  is not greater than 10 inches. That is, the base  100  has a height that is certainly not greater than 10 inches. Such design specification permits a user to conveniently carry or store the collapsible luggage. In certain embodiments, the distance is not limited to being 10 inches, and may vary according to actual design requirements. 
     It is worth mentioning that in order to meet such design specification, the base wall  110  of the base  100  can be grooved from the bottom surface at positions corresponding to where the wheel members  200  are disposed. As such, the size of the wheel members  200  is not restricted by the height of the base  100 , and that the volume of the receiving space  910  is not compromised, since the bottom surface of the base wall  110  does not have to be at the same height level as a top end of any of the wheel members  200 . Moreover, the base  100  and the wheel members  200  may have an improved coupling strength. 
     The flexible body  400  includes two side segments  410 , opposite front and rear segments  420 ,  430 , and a top segment  440 . The side segments  410  are respectively connected to the short edges  121  of the surrounding wall  120  of the base  100 . The front and rear segments  420 ,  430  are respectively connected to the long edges  122  of the surrounding wall  120 , and interconnect the side segments  410 . The top segment  440  interconnects top ends of the side segments  410 , the front segment  420 , and the rear segment  430 . The flexible body  400  is made of a material selected from TTC fabric, Mutispandex, woven fabric, leather, single or composite polyurethane (PU), styrene-butadiene rubber (SEP.), and rubber, etc., so that the flexible material is both flexible and waterproof. The flexible body  400  has an opening  441 . In this embodiment, the opening  441  is formed in the top segment  440 . 
     The zipper  300  is disposed at the opening  441  for covering and uncovering the opening  441 . 
     The telescopic rod unit  300  is disposed, on one of the side segments  410  of the flexible body  400 , and has a pivot end  311  that is pivotally connected to one of the short edges  121  of the surrounding wall  120  which is adjacent to the one of the side segments  410  of the flexible body  400 . The telescopic rod unit  300  is pivotable relative to the one of the short, edges  121  between an unfolded position (see  FIG. 2 ) and a folded position (see  FIG. 5 ). When the telescopic rod unit  300  is at the unfolded position, the telescopic rod unit  300  is substantially perpendicular to the base wall  110 , and the flexible body  400  is expanded so that the flexible body  400  and the base  100  cooperatively define an accommodating space  920  (see  FIG. 1 ), and that the collapsible luggage is transformed to an expanded state. When the telescopic rod unit  300  is at the folded position, the flexible body  400  is collapsed, and the telescopic rod unit  300  and the flexible body  400  are received in the receiving space S 10  of the base  100  so that the collapsible luggage is transformed to a collapsed state. 
     In greater detail, the telescopic rod unit  300  includes a frame  310  that has the pivot end  311 , and a grip  320  that is telescopically movable relative to the frame  310  between an extended position (see  FIG. 1 ) and a retracted position (see  FIG. 2 ). When the collapsible luggage is in the expanded state and the grip  320  is at the retracted position, the grip  320  is concealed and does not protrude from the top segment  440  of the flexible body  400 . When the collapsible luggage is in the expanded state and the grip  320  is at the extended position, the grip  320  extends through the opening  441  and protrudes from the top segment  440  of the flexible body  400 . 
     It should be noted that in other modification of the embodiment, the telescopic rod unit  300  may be disposed on a selected one of the front and rear segments  420 ,  430  of the flexible body  400 , and the pivot end  311  of the telescopic rod unit  300  may be pivotally connected to one of the long edges  122  of the surrounding wall  120  which is adjacent to the selected one of the front and rear segments  420 ,  430  of the flexible body  400 . 
     The first reinforcing unit  500  includes a reinforcing board  510  that is disposed between the telescopic rod unit  300  and the one of the side segments  410  of the flexible body  400 , and that is co-movable with the telescopic rod unit  300 . 
     The second reinforcing unit  600  includes a reinforcing board  610  that has two board portions  611  disposed on the other one of the side segments  410  of the flexible body  400  which is opposite to the telescopic rod unit  300 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the board portions  611  of the reinforcing board  610  of the second reinforcing unit  600  are, but not limited to be, hinged together. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the restraining device  700  includes two fixation seats  710  (only one of the fixation seats  710  is shown in  FIG. 2 ) and an elastic strip  720 . The fixation seats  710  are opposite to each other and are rotatably mounted on the surrounding wail  120  of the base  100 . The elastic strip  720  interconnects the fixation seat s  710 . The fixation seats  710  are rotatable along with the elastic strip  720  relative to the base  100  so that the elastic strip  720  can be operated to flip to a top surface of the base  100  in an unobstructed and convenient manner. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , when it is desired to transform the collapsible luggage from the collapsed state to the expanded state for use, the flexible body  400  and the telescopic rod unit  300  are first pulled away from the receiving space S 10  of the base  100  until the telescopic rod unit  300  reaches the unfolded position (see  FIG. 2 ). At this time, the reinforcing board  510  of the first reinforcing unit  500  stands upright, and the reinforcing board  610  of the second reinforcing unit  600  is unfolded to support the other one of the side segments  410  of the flexible body  400 . In this way, each of the side segments  410  has a level surface. At this time, the collapsible luggage is in the expanded state, the grip  320  is at the retracted position, and the elastic strip  720  is in contact with the bottom surface of the base  100 . The zipper  800  can be unzipped so that the grip  320  can be pulled out through the opening  441  until the grip  320  is moved to the extended position (see  FIG. 1 ). As such, the collapsible luggage can be pulled and moved around in a convenient manner. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 4 , when it is desired to transform the collapsible luggage to the collapsed state for storage or transport, first, the accommodating space  920  is emptied, the grip  320  is moved to back to the retracted position, and the zipper  800  is zipped to cover the opening  441 . Next, the reinforcing board  610  of the second reinforcing unit  600  is folded and moved toward the receiving space  910  so as to permit the flexible body  400  to be collapsed. That is, the front segment  420 , the rear segment  430 , and the top segment  440  of the flexible body  400  are moved together with one of the side segments  410  which is connected to the second reinforcing unit  600 , and are folded into the receiving space  910 . In the meantime, the telescopic rod unit  300  moves together with the other one of the side segments  410  and pivots down toward the receiving space  910 . When the telescopic rod unit  300  pivots to a position that is flush with the top surface of the base  100 , the telescopic rod unit  300  reaches the folded position, as shown in  FIG. 5 . At this time, the collapsible luggage is in the collapsed state, and the elastic strip  720  can be flipped to the top surface of the base  100  so as to restrain the flexible body  400  and the telescopic rod unit  300  in the receiving space  910 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     It is worth mentioning that in certain embodiments, the board portions  611  of the reinforcing board  610  of the second reinforcing unit  600  may be spaced apart and not connected to each other. When the collapsible luggage is transformed to the collapsed state, the board portions  611  of the reinforcing board  610  are stacked one above the other and are received in the receiving space  910 . 
     In summary, compared with the above-mentioned conventional collapsible luggage with the bottom part being collapsible, the base  100  of the collapsible luggage of the embodiment is not collapsible and serves mainly to bear weight of articles disposed thereon. Therefore, the base  100  which is formed as one piece has enhanced structural integrity, improved durability, and reduced manufacturing cost. 
     In addition, when the collapsible luggage is in the collapsed state, the telescopic rod unit  300  and the flexible body  400  are received in the receiving space  910  of the base  100  so that the collapsible luggage possesses a smallest possible volume. By virtue of the elastic strip  720 , the telescopic rod unit  300  and the flexible body  400  are restrained in the receiving space  910  and are prevented from, expanding, thereby providing a streamlined appearance and convenience in transport or storage. Furthermore, due to the compact size of the collapsible luggage, the cost of transporting or shipping the collapsible luggage may be reduced. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that, in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, Figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.