Improvements in and relating to Trunks, Travelling Bags, and the like.
Year: 1893

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Trunks, Travelling Bags, and
the like.
I, JOSEF KERMANN, Merchant of 29 Kreuzstrasse, Munich in the Kingdom of
Bavaria, German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The present invention relates to improvements in trunks and travelling bags of
every description, and its object is to protect articles packed in said trunks or
bags from interior and exterior pressure, and thus enable fragile and heavy objects
to be packed in one and the same trunk or bag without any danger of the former
being broken by sudden contact with the latter.
In order to make this Specification more easily intelligible, reference is had to
the accompanying drawings in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout
the several views,
Fig. 1 being a vertical section of my improved trunk when closed,
Fig. 2 a plan of an open trunk,
Fig. 3 a vertical section of a travelling bag in a folded condition,
Fig. 4 a similar section showing the bag opened out to its full size and,
Fig. 5 a plan of Fig. 4.
In order to prevent articles packed in the trunk or bag from being shaken up
against each other I provide the same with adjustable partitions, which may be
fixed at any desired position within the said trunk or bag, thus forming a sories of
compartments by means of which the heavier articles can be separated from the
lighter fragile things.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 a is the trunk having the cover band having fixed to the
bottom thereof at each corner vertical rods c upon which the partition d is arranged
to slide, being adjustable in any desired vertical position by means of the sockets
with set screws e sliding upon the rods c c. By this means the heavier articles
may be entirely separated from the lighter fragile ones and thus all danger of
breakage of the latter is avoided, the foregoing arrangement may be also applied
to Gladstone & other bags, such bags in this case not being collapsible.
In the case of travelling bags I provide the bag with an adjustable frame as
shown in Figs. 3 to 5. At each side of the bag a frame h of suitable material-
preferably stiff iron wire-is arranged and the two frames are adjustable with
regard to each other by means of the cross rods k k pivotally connected to each
other by the screws I and having their ends arranged to slide on the end rods of
the frames h h by means of rings i i. These end crosses k k and with them the
side frames h may be fixed in any desired position by means of the screws 11
Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the rods k pertaining to each screw being formed one with a
nut and the other with a plain hole; or the screws may be arranged to clamp the
rodsk by any other convenient means. When the bag is empty it may be folded
as shown at Fig. 3 and when packed the articles within will be protected from
exterior pressure by the frames / h. The main advantage of this construction is
that the size of the bag can always be accommodated to the extent to which the
same is packed, and thus when the same is only partially full the size may be
reduced correspondingly and a shaking of the articles inside avoided.
The invention may be applied to trunks and bags of every description and is
particularly adapted for use in connection with sample bags, portmanteaux and
handbags.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In trunks or travelling bags of any description the arrangement of one or
o more adjustable partitions as and for the purpose substantially as described and
shown.
2. In trunks and travelling bags the arrangement of partitions d (one or more)
vertical rods cc and sockets with set screws e in connection with the partitions and
adapted to slide on said rods c substantially as shown.
3. Travelling bags and the like having adjustable stiffening frames within the
same for the purpose and in the manner substantially as described.
4. In travelling bags and the like the arrangements of the stiffening frames h
at the sides, and the adjustable cross frames k k connecting said frames h h whereby
the ends of the crosses slide on the rods of frames by means of rings i i
substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 14th day of August 1902
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT.