A method for manufacturing a quadrangular shell having five faces and non-developable trihedral connectors between the faces. Plies having continuous fibers are cut to cover the five faces of the shell outside of the trihedral connector zones. Four connector components consolidated in the shape of the trihedral connectors are obtained. Each of the components includes an integration zone between the plies. Plies are positioned and laid up. The four consolidated components are inserted in the trihedral connection zones by inserting the integration zones between two plies to form an assembly obtain a preform. The preform is placed in a tool and the consolidation of the stack of fibrous plies is performed by subjecting the assembly to a predetermined pressure/temperature cycle.

A method for making a hard luggage case includes: a step of parison forming: including forming a parison; a step of blow molding including: forming the hard luggage case by subjecting the parison to a blow molding process, wherein the hard luggage case includes a cutting line to divide the hard luggage case into a first shell and a second shell; and a step of cutting including: cutting the hard luggage case along the cutting line to separate the first and second shells from each other. The step of blow molding is capable of reducing the manufacturing cost, while improving the life and marketing competiveness of the hard luggage case.

A container capable of suppressing the unexpected opening of a pair of upper walls including a first side wall and a second side wall facing each other; a third side wall provided therebetween; a first upper wall and a second upper wall; and a locking member. The first side wall and the second side wall face each other. The first upper wall and the second upper wall are configured to be rotatable with respect to the first side wall and the second side wall, respectively. The locking member includes a fixed portion and an engagement portion, the fixed portion being fixed to the third side wall, the engagement portion being engaged with at least one of the first upper wall and the second upper wall to prevent the first upper wall and the second upper wall from opening.

A luggage case includes a case woven by thermoplastic composite material, the case includes four integrally connected lateral walls, a bottom connected to the lateral walls, and four arc-shaped corners at cross points of the lateral walls, between each of the arc-shaped corners and the bottom is defined a hole. Any two of the lateral walls which are neighboring to each other are provided with a first overlapping portion and a second overlapping portion, respectively, and the first and second overlapping portions are integrally connected to each other without a notch formed therebetween, each of the corners of the case is folded to make the first and second overlapping portions overlapped with each other, so as to form a thickened pieces on an inner surface of each of the lateral walls.

A luggage shell or case made from a sheet formed by compacting and heating a mat made of either a mixture of randomly oriented first discontinuous non-woven plastic fibers (42) having a first melting temperature and randomly oriented second discontinuous reinforcing non-woven plastic fiber (46) having a second melting temperature higher than the first melting temperature, or a bicomponent fiber having a first plastic portion having a first melting temperature and a second plastic portion having a second melting temperature. The non-woven mat is heated at a temperature between the first melting temperature and the second melting temperature, as well as by forming the compacted non-woven sheet (64) into the luggage shell.

A structure of case body selects a material of PET fibers or PET fibers with PP fibers to prepare a non-woven fabric layer block which is processed by baking and cold molding to form a case body. The case body is formed by combining a left shell and a right shell which are manufactured separately, and then combined into a case body with an accommodation space inside. The left shell is divided into a left top wall, a left sidewall and a left bottom wall which are continuously extended and molded. The right shell is divided into a right top wall, a right sidewall and a right bottom wall which are continuously extended and molded. The left and right top walls and the left and right bottom walls have a weight per unit area of 1200-2000 g/m.sup.2. The left and right sidewalls have a weight per unit area of 600-1200 g/m.sup.2.

Process of making a plastic component (1), in particular luggage shell, from self-reinforced thermoplastic material, to a plastic component (1) made of self-reinforced thermoplastic material and an apparatus for making such a plastic component, in particular luggage shell (7). The invention provides a new product and process for manufacturing same on the basis of self-reinforced thermoplastic material by means of the step of tensioning said material (lamina), at least partially tensioning said lamina during all follow-up component shaping and/or molding steps up to a release of a component pre-form shape from the remainder lamina, to form the component. The present invention allow the manufacturing of an ultra-light weight luggage shell (7) on the basis of using self-reinforced thermoplastic material, the manufacturing of same can be further enhanced by permanently tensioning said material during all manufacturing steps up to the final finishing of the product.

a luggage with composite material integrally formed frame includes a first shell, a second shell, a first frame, and a second frame. The second shell is openably assembled to the first shell. The first frame is integrated with the first shell and is located on the outer edge of the first shell. The second frame is integrally formed with the second shell and located on an outer edge of the second shell. When the first shell and the second shell are closed, the protruding engagement member of the second frame is engaged in the recessed engagement groove of the first frame.

A method for manufacturing a luggage formed by composite material includes the steps: A) using a vacuum molding method to make a thermoplastic sheet into a shell; B) placing the shell in an inner cavity mold area of a heating mold to correspond the outer surface of the shell to the inner wall surface of the inner cavity mold area; C) setting the outer surface of the thermosetting carbon fiber plastic layer on the inner surface of the shell ; D) setting the reinforcing layer on the inner surface of the thermosetting carbon fiber plastic layer at the location corresponding to the corner of the shell; and E) placing an airbag in the receiving area of the shell and inflating the airbag to support the inner surface of the thermosetting carbon fiber plastic layer and the reinforcing layer.

The invention relates to a method for producing a self-reinforced thermoplastic composite material including: providing strips of a thermoplastic and weaving the plastic strips into a base fabric. The plastic strips for this are produced by at least the following steps: producing pre-stretched fibres from a partially crystalline polyester homopolymer with a melting point by extrusion on at least one spinning nozzle and subsequent stretching and joining a plurality of pre-stretched endless fibres lying next to and/or above one another to a matrix of an amorphous polyester homopolymer at a processing temperature T2<T1, wherein the temperature difference between T1 and T2 is at least ΔT=30° C.