Patent Publication Number: US-2005140104-A1

Title: Portable casing

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a casing, and more particularly to a casing that has at least one wheel and is conveniently moved and transported.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      To conveniently transport objects, casings, such as paper casings are commonly used to package objects therein. However, a casing with an object contained therein has a heavy weight for manual transportation, and this makes the conventional casing inconvenient to transport.  
      To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a casing to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The main objective of the invention is to provide a casing that has at least one wheel and can be transported conveniently and easily. The casing has a hollow body, at least one wheel holder and at least one wheel. The body has at least one cavity to respectively receive the at least one wheel holder. Each wheel is rotatably mounted on the at least one wheel holder.  
      Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a side plan view in partial section of the casing in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is an operational side plan view in partial section of the casing in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is an operational side plan view in partial section of the casing in  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a fourth-embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention; and  
       FIG. 9  is an operational side plan view in partial section of the casing in  FIG. 8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body ( 10 ), two wheel holders ( 12 ) and two wheels ( 14 ). The hollow body ( 10 ) has two cavities ( 102 ) defined in bottom of the body ( 10 ) at two adjacent corners respectively. The wheel holders ( 12 ) are securely mounted respectively in the cavities ( 102 ). In the first embodiment, each wheel holder ( 12 ) has an L-shaped base ( 122 ) with two sides and two wings ( 124 ) extending from the sides of the base ( 122 ) to define a space in the wheel holder ( 12 ). Each wheel ( 14 ) is rotatably mounted in the space in one of the wheel holders ( 12 ) with an axle and is partially exposed from the corresponding wheel holder ( 12 ). In an optional embodiment, each wing ( 124 ) has a cutout ( 125 ) to make the wheel exposed from the corresponding wheel holder ( 12 ). In addition, an L-shaped securing frame ( 126 ) extends from one of the wings ( 124 ) on each wheel holder ( 12 ) and is securely attached to the body ( 10 ) through fasteners (not numbered). Accordingly, each wheel holder ( 12 ) can be securely mounted on the body ( 10 ) through the securing frame ( 126 ) and the fasteners. In an alternative embodiment, each wheel holder ( 12 ) can be securely mounted in the corresponding cavity ( 102 ) with glue.  
      With further reference to  FIG. 3 , to transport the casing, one side of the body ( 10 ) is lifted to make parts of the wheels ( 14 ) exposed from the cutouts ( 125 ) in the wheel holders ( 12 ) abut against the ground. Consequently, the user can pull or push the casing to move. With the arrangement of the wheels ( 14 ), to transport the casing is easy and convenient even when the casing is filled with objects and is heavy. In addition, because the wheel holders ( 12 ) are received in the cavities ( 102 ) in the body ( 10 ), the volume of the entire casing with the wheel holders ( 12 ) and the wheels ( 14 ) will not increase.  
      With reference to  FIG. 4 , a second embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention has a structure same as that of the first embodiment described previously, except that the securing frame ( 126 ′) on each wheel holder ( 12 ′) further has two ears ( 128 ). The ears extend respectively from two sides of the securing frame ( 126 ′) and abut against the body ( 10 ′).  
      With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a third embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body ( 20 ), two wheel holders ( 22 ) and two wheels ( 24 ). The body ( 20 ) has two cavities ( 202 ) defined in one side the body ( 20 ) near the bottom. The wheel holders ( 22 ) are mounted respectively in the cavities ( 202 ), and each wheel holder ( 22 ) comprises a base ( 222 ) and a wheel mount ( 224 ). The base ( 222 ) is securely attached in a corresponding one of the cavities ( 202 ). The wheel mount ( 224 ) is inverse U-shaped with one end pivotally attached to the base ( 222 ), and each wheel ( 24 ) is rotatably mounted in one of the wheel mounts ( 224 ).  
      Before the casing is transported, the wheel mounts ( 224 ) with the wheels ( 24 ) are received in the cavities ( 202 ). When the user wants to move the casing, the wheel mounts ( 224 ) are pivotally rotated relative to the base ( 222 ) to escape from the cavities ( 202 ) in the body ( 20 ) and to abut against the bottom of the body ( 20 ) with the tops of the wheel mounts ( 224 ). Accordingly, the wheels ( 24 ) on the wheel mounts ( 224 ) will abut against the ground, such that the user can conveniently transport the casing at a low friction.  
      With reference to  FIG. 7 , a fourth embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body ( 30 ), two wheel holders ( 32 ) and two wheels ( 34 ). The body ( 30 ) has two cavities ( 302 ) defined in the bottom of the body ( 30 ). The wheel holders ( 32 ) are mounted respectively in the cavities ( 302 ), and each wheel holder ( 32 ) comprises a base ( 322 ) and a wheel mount ( 324 ). The base ( 322 ) is securely attached in a corresponding one of the cavities ( 302 ). The wheel mount ( 324 ) is inverse U-shaped with one side pivotally attached to the base ( 322 ), and each wheel ( 34 ) is rotatably mounted in one of the wheel mounts ( 324 ). The operation of the fourth embodiment is same as that of the third embodiment mentioned previously and is not further described.  
      With reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a fifth embodiment of a casing in accordance with the present invention comprises a body ( 40 ), a wheel holder ( 42 ) and a wheel ( 44 ). The body ( 40 ) has a cavity (not numbered) defined in one edge of the bottom. The wheel holder ( 42 ) is mounted in the cavity, and the wheel ( 44 ) is rotatably mounted in the wheel holder ( 42 ). The wheel ( 44 ) has a length greater than half of a length but smaller than the complete length of the edge on which the wheel holder ( 42 ) is mounted. To transport the casing with the wheel ( 44 ), one side of the body ( 40 ) is lifted to make the wheel ( 44 ) abut against the ground, such that the casing can be moved easily and conveniently.  
      Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.