Luggage for mechanical integration with a platform

Abstract

Luggage that may be mechanically integrated with a platform, including a piece of luggage including a slit through which the piece of luggage is integrated with a platform for the piece of luggage, a handle fastened to the piece of luggage, for pushing or pulling the piece of luggage, luggage wheels fastened to a first outer surface of the piece of luggage, for rolling the piece of luggage, and a release mechanism extending from the luggage unit to the platform, through the slit, for unlocking the platform, wherein the platform locks and unlocks such that the platform is free to be raised and lowered when it is unlocked, and is not free to be raised and lowered when it is locked.

Claims

1. Luggage that may be mechanically integrated with a platform, comprising: a piece of luggage comprising a slit-shaped opening through which the piece of luggage is integrated with a platform for the piece of luggage; a handle fastened to said piece of luggage, for pushing or pulling said piece of luggage; luggage wheels fastened to a first outer surface of said piece of luggage, for rolling said piece of luggage; and a release mechanism extending from said luggage unit to the platform, through said slit-shaped opening, for unlocking the platform, comprising: a release lever that moves along an arc when the release lever is lifted; a rod inside said luggage unit that moves downward when said release lever is lifted; and a spring-loaded slideable block with an inclined plane, wherein said rod presses on said inclined plane when said first rod moves downward, causing said block to slide in a first direction, and wherein the spring load causes said block to slide in an opposite direction from the first direction when said rod ceases to press on said inclined plane, thereby pushing said rod upward and lowering said release lever, wherein the platform locks and unlocks such that the platform is free to be raised and lowered when it is unlocked, and is not free to be raised and lowered when it is locked.

2. The luggage of claim 1 wherein said slit-shaped opening is covered from inside said luggage unit by said block, and covered from outside said luggage unit by the platform.

3. Luggage that may be mechanically integrated with a platform, comprising: a piece of luggage comprising a slit-shaped opening through which the piece of luggage is integrated with a platform for the piece of luggage; a handle fastened to said piece of luggage, for pushing or pulling said piece of luggage, comprising a bar in the handle, perpendicular to the handle, that can be pushed downward within the handle; luggage wheels fastened to a first outer surface of said piece of luggage, for rolling said piece of luggage; and a release mechanism extending from said luggage unit to the platform, through said slit-shaped opening, for unlocking the platform, comprising a spring-loaded slideable block with an inclined plane, wherein said bar presses on said inclined plane when said bar moves downward, causing said block to slide in a first direction, and wherein the spring load causes said block to slide in an opposite direction from the first direction when said bar ceases to press on said inclined plane, thereby pushing the bar upward, wherein the platform locks and unlocks such that the platform is free to be raised and lowered when it is unlocked, and is not free to be raised and lowered when it is locked.

4. The luggage of claim 3 wherein said slit-shaped opening is covered from inside said luggage unit by said block, and covered from outside said luggage unit by the platform.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a simplified front view of luggage with an integrated trolley, in non-stowed raised and lowered positions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a simplified front view of the luggage with the integrated trolley in a stowed position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of the luggage of FIG. 1, showing a release lever to unlock the trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a simplified bottom view of the luggage and trolley of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a simplified perspective view of an upper trolley body, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective view of a guided roller for use in the upper trolley body, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(8) FIG. 7 is a simplified view of a shaft for releasing a guided roller pin from being engaged in a protrusion of an upper trolley body, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(9) FIG. 8 is a simplified view of a guided roller pin in an engaged and in a disengaged position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(10) FIG. 9 is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guided roller pin from its engaged position by means of a release lever, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(11) FIG. 10 is a simplified front view of luggage with an integrated trolley, in raised and lowered positions, in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention; and

(12) FIG. 11 is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guided roller pin from its engaged position by means of a handle bar, in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

(13) For reference to the figures, the following index of elements and their numerals is provided. Similarly numbered elements represent elements of the same type, but they need not be identical elements.

(14) TABLE-US-00001 Table of elements in the figures Element Description 100 luggage unit 110 luggage 120 handle for pushing/pulling the trolley 125 handle for pushing/pulling the luggage 130 luggage wheels 140 release lever to open trolley 142 rod connected to release lever 143 rod in luggage handle 144 inclined slideable block 146 spring 148 rod connected to slideable block 149 slit through which rod extends out of luggage 150 shaft to release engaged pin of guided roller 155 capped shaft pins 200 trolley unit 210 upper trolley body 212 studs for fastening luggage unit to trolley unit 214 Slit through which rollers of lift mechanism are guided 215 protrusions for engaging pin of guided roller 220 lower trolley body 230 lift mechanism 240 guided rollers for raising and lowering lift mechanism 242 axles of guided rollers 245 spring-loaded pin of guided roller 250 trolley wheels 260 axles for a trolley

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(15) Embodiments of the present invention relate to luggage with an integrated trolley. The trolley locks and unlocks. The trolley includes a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the luggage when the trolley is unlocked. The luggage rolls on a set of wheels when pulled by a luggage handle, in the raised and lowered positions. When not in use, the trolley folds to stow compactly along an outer surface of the luggage. The luggage rolls on a different set of wheels when the trolley is not in use.

(16) The integrated luggage and trolley includes four primary components, as described in detail below; namely, a luggage unit, a trolley unit, a lock mechanism and a release mechanism. The luggage unit includes a piece of luggage, a luggage handle and luggage wheels. The trolley unit includes a lift mechanism for raising and lowering the trolley unit, and trolley wheels. The luggage unit may be used with or without the trolley unit. The trolley unit folds to a stowed position, for convenient stowage when not in use, and unfolds to a non-stowed position when in use. The luggage and trolley units are shown in FIGS. 1-4 and 10. The lift mechanism of the trolley unit may be locked in place, in which case the trolley unit cannot be freely raised and lowered. The lock mechanism locks the lift mechanism, is situated within the trolley unit, and is shown in FIGS. 5-8. The release mechanism unlocks the lift mechanism of the trolley unit, so that the trolley unit may be freely raised and lowered. The release mechanism extends from the luggage unit to the trolley unit through a slit in the piece of luggage, and is shown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

(17) Luggage and Trolley Units

(18) Reference is made to FIG. 1, which is a simplified front view of luggage with an integrated trolley, in a non-stowed raised position at the left of FIG. 1 and in a non-stowed lowered position at the right of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 1 is a luggage unit 100 including a piece of luggage 110 having a luggage handle 120 for pushing or pulling luggage 110. From the viewpoint of FIG. 1, the outer left, right, top and front faces of luggage 110 are designated respectively as A, B, C and D.

(19) Luggage unit 100 is fastened to a trolley unit 200 that locks and unlocks. Trolley unit 200 has an upper trolley body 210, a lower trolley body 220, and a scissor lift mechanism 230 fastened between upper trolley body 210 and lower trolley body 220. Upper trolley body 210 is also referred to as a platform for luggage unit 100. Guided rollers 240 control raising and lowering of lift mechanism 230. Lift mechanism 230 is fastened to rollers 240 via axles 242 of the rollers. Trolley wheels 250 are fastened underneath lower trolley body 220, and serve to roll luggage 110 when luggage handle 120 is pushed or pulled.

(20) Luggage wheels 130 serve to roll luggage 110 when trolley unit 200 is folded, by pushing or pulling on luggage handle 125 (shown in FIG. 2).

(21) A release lever 140 on luggage 110 serves to unlock trolley unit 200 from its locked position. While lever 140 is lifted by a traveler, trolley unit 200 is released from its locked position, and lift mechanism 230 is free to raise and lower. When the traveler stops lifting lever 140, trolley unit 200 locks into place at its current position. Operation of release lever 140 is described below with reference to FIG. 9.

(22) Reference is made to FIG. 2, which is a simplified front view of the luggage with the integrated trolley in a stowed position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows that trolley upper body 210 and trolley lower body 220 rest together compactly along an outer surface of luggage unit 100, when trolley unit 200 is folded, for convenient stowage of the trolley when it is not in use. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, folding of trolley unit 200 is performed by locking the trolley unit into place when lift mechanism 230 is lowered as much as possible. As seen from the relative positions of the faces A, B and C, the luggage in FIG. 2 is rotated 90 and flipped vis--vis the luggage in FIG. 1, since the luggage of FIG. 2 rolls along luggage wheels 130, whereas the luggage of FIG. 1 rolls along trolley wheels 250.

(23) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that trolley unit 200 may optionally include a latch (not shown) to fasten trolley upper body 210 and trolley lower body 220 together when the trolley unit is stowed.

(24) Reference is made to FIG. 3, which is a simplified side view of the luggage of FIG. 1, showing release lever 140 that unlocks the trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The side view appears at the top of FIG. 3 and, as can be seen at the bottom of FIG. 3, release lever 140 connects to a rod 142 inside luggage 110. Operation of release lever 140 and rod 142 is described below with reference to FIG. 9.

(25) Reference is made to FIG. 4, which is a simplified bottom view of the luggage and trolley of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 4 are axles 260 joining front and back parts of lower trolley body 220.

(26) Lock Mechanism

(27) Reference is made to FIG. 5, which is a simplified perspective view of upper trolley body 210, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer top face of upper trolley body 210 includes studs 212 for fastening luggage 110 to upper trolley body 210. The bottom face of upper trolley body 210 includes a slit 214 through which the top of scissor of lift mechanism 230 moves back and forth. The outer back face of upper trolley body 210 includes protrusions 215 in which a spring-loaded pin of a guided roller 240 is securely engaged when the trolley unit is locked, as described below.

(28) FIG. 5 also shows a cross-section of protrusions 215 extending out of a line X-X in the outer back face of upper trolley body 210.

(29) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that slit 214 may alternatively be located on the front face of upper trolley body 214, instead of on the bottom face.

(30) Reference is made to FIG. 6, which is a simplified perspective view of guided roller 240 for use in upper trolley body 210, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a spring-loaded guided roller pin 245, which engages in one of the protrusions 215 of upper trolley body 210, as roller 240 slides, to lock the trolley unit. Engagement of roller pin 245 serves to hold roller 240 in place, and to thereby hold scissor lift mechanism 230 in place at a desired height.

(31) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that either one or both of guided rollers 240 in upper trolley body 210 may be equipped with spring-loaded guided roller pin 245, for engagement within one of the protrusions 215. If only one guided roller has a spring-loaded roller pin 245, then it is only necessary for upper trolley body 210 to have protrusions 215 for half of its extent. If both guided rollers have spring-loaded roller pins, then upper trolley body should have protrusions 215 for its full extent.

(32) Release Mechanism

(33) Reference is made to FIG. 7, which is a simplified view of a shaft 150 for releasing guided roller pin 245 from being engaged in a protrusion of upper trolley body 210, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, protrusions 215 of upper trolley body 210 are pierced by small holes at their apex. Respective capped pins 155 are moved in and out of these small holes by shaft 150. When capped pins 155 move into these small holes, they eject roller pin 245 from whichever protrusion is it engaged in, thereby enabling roller 240 move freely, and thereby enabling scissor lift mechanism 230 to freely move up and down.

(34) In accordance with an embodiment of the subject invention, lifting of release lever 140 mechanically causes shaft 150 to move from the position shown in the upper portion of FIG. 7 to the position shown in the lower portion of FIG. 7, and thereby disengages roller pin 245 from a protrusion, and enables scissor lift mechanism to freely move.

(35) Reference is made to FIG. 8, which is a simplified view of guided roller pin 245 in an engaged position with its spring uncompressed, at the right of FIG. 8, and in a disengaged position with its spring compressed, at the left of FIG. 8, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

(36) Reference is made to FIG. 9, which is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing guided roller pin 245 from its engaged position by means of release lever 140, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, when release lever 140 is lifted, rod 142 lowers onto an inclined plane of a slideable block 144. The force of rod 142 on the inclined plane causes block 144 to slide rightward. As block 144 moves to the right, a spring 146 is compressed. When release lever 140 is lowered, rod 142 is raised away from the inclined plane, and spring 146 causes block 144 to slide leftward, back to its rest position. Another rod 148 connects block 144 to shaft, so that sliding of block 144 to the right causes capped pins 155 to eject roller pin 245 from whatever protrusion it is engaged in, thereby unlocking lift mechanism 230.

(37) Although rod 142 is contained within luggage 110, rod 148 extends out of luggage 110 through a small slit 149 at the bottom of luggage 110 that is sealed by block 144.

(38) The portion of the release mechanism of FIG. 9 inside of luggage 110 is preferably situated within a covered portion at the bottom of the luggage, thus concealing it from the traveler. The portion of the release mechanism of FIG. 9 outside of luggage 110 is preferably situated within a covered portion of trolley unit 200, thus concealing it, too, from the traveler.

(39) One having the benefit of the subject disclosure will appreciate that there are many variations of the integrated luggage and trolley of the subject invention. Thus, although the luggage and trolley described hereinabove are integrated in a purely mechanical fashion, they may alternatively be integrated using an electro-mechanical lock and release mechanism.

(40) In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, one of the luggage wheels also functions as one of the trolley wheels. In this regard, reference is made to FIG. 10, which is a simplified front view of luggage with an integrated trolley, in raised and lowered positions, in accordance with this alternate embodiment of the present invention.

(41) In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the release mechanism may use a bar 143 inside handle 120 of the luggage, in which case release lever 140 is not required. In this regard, reference is made to FIG. 11, which is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guided roller pin from its engaged position by means of a handle bar, in accordance with this alternate embodiment of the present invention.

(42) In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific exemplary embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.