LUGGAGE

Abstract

An article of luggage comprising a front panel that extends around a portion of a top, bottom and sides, a back panel that extends around a portion of the top, bottom and sides, one or more wheels at the bottom and a handle on one or more of the sides, top and/or back panel, where the front panel is made up of two or more sections including a first front panel section with a hinge on a first side of the luggage and a second front panel section with a hinge on a second side of the luggage. The caf?-style front panel allows a user to open one of the front panel sections independently of the other, with the interior of the front panel section preferably having one or more compartments to hold personal articles.

Claims

1. An article of luggage comprising a front panel that extends around a portion of a top, bottom and sides of the luggage, a back panel that extends around a portion of the top, bottom and sides of the luggage, one or more wheels at the bottom of the luggage and a handle on one or more of the sides, top and/or back panel of the luggage, wherein the front panel comprises two or more sections including a first front panel section with a hinge on a first side of the luggage and a second front panel section with a hinge on a second side of the luggage.

2. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein the ration of the first front panel section to the second front panel section is taken from the group consisting of about 50:50, about 60:40, about 66.6:33.3, and about 75:25.

3. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the first front panel section is releasably attached to the back panel by a zipper and at least a portion of the second front panel section is releasably attached to the back by a zipper.

4. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein the first and second front panel sections are releasably attached to one another by a closure.

5. The article of luggage according to claim 4 wherein the closure is taken from the group consisting of one or more zippers, clasps, snaps, toggles and combinations thereof.

6. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein the wheels include two or more wheels on the back panel and at least one wheel on each of the first and second front panel sections.

7. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein the back panel comprises an open interior and a hangar support at or near a top of the open interior configured for holding hangars.

8. The article of luggage according to claim 7 wherein the back panel comprises one or more triangular compartments above the area of the sides of hangars held on the hangar support.

9. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second front panel sections include two or more compartments on an interior of the section.

10. The article of luggage according to claim 9 wherein the compartments are separated by a wall extending across an interior width of the sections.

11. The article of luggage according to claim 9 wherein at least one of the compartments comprises a compartment front wall.

12. The article of luggage according to claim 11 wherein the compartment front wall is a full front wall with an openable closure configured to allow access to the compartment.

13. The article of luggage according to claim 11 wherein the compartment front wall is a partial front wall covering a portion of the compartment.

14. The article of luggage according to claim 13 wherein the compartment partial front wall comprises an open edge comprising an elastic material.

15. The article of luggage according to claim 1 wherein the handle is a retractable, extending handle.

16. The article of luggage according to claim 1 further comprising one or more locks for preventing access to an interior of the luggage.

17. The article of luggage according to claim 7 wherein the open interior of the back panel comprises a front wall.

18. The article of luggage according to claim 17 wherein the front wall comprises one of a full front wall with an openable closure configured to allow access to the compartment and a partial front wall comprising an open edge comprising an elastic material.

19. The article of luggage according to claim 1 further comprising a removable case fitted across a portion of a bottom of an open interior of the back panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The attached drawings, in which like reference characters represent like parts, are intended to better illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention without limiting the invention in any manner whatsoever.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an embodiment of the luggage article of the present invention in a closed configuration.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the luggage article of the present invention in an open closed configuration with a first optional interior.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the luggage article of the present invention in an open closed configuration with a second optional interior.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the luggage article of the present invention in an open closed configuration with a third optional interior.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the luggage article of the present invention in an open closed configuration with a fourth optional interior.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] The following description of the preferred embodiment is presented to describe the present invention without limiting the scope of the appended claims in any manner whatsoever.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the present invention is directed to an article of luggage 2 comprising a front panel 4 that extends around a portion of a top 8, bottom 10 and sides 12 and 14, a back panel 6 that extends around a portion of the top 8, bottom 10 and sides 12 and 14, wheels 16 at the bottom 10 and a handle 18 on one or more of the sides 12 and 14, top 8 and/or back panel 6, wherein the front panel 4 comprises two or more sections including a first front panel section 20 with a hinge 24 on a first side of the luggage article and a second front panel section 22 with a hinge 24 on a second side of the luggage 2.

[0025] As shown in the drawings, the front panel 4 is divided with the first front panel section 20 making up about 60% of the width of the front panel 4 and second front panel section 22 making up about 40% of the width of the front panel 4, divided from top 8 to bottom 10, with a hinge 24 on the outer sides of each of the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22. Of course, it is understood that the front panel 4 can be divided in other proportions, including but not limited to first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 having a 50/50 split, a 66.6/33.3 split, a 75/25 split, or any suitable combination.

[0026] Additionally, it is understood that the front panel 4 can have more than two front panel sections 20 and 22. However, it is preferred that when a third front panel section is included that it cover a portion of the top 8 or bottom 10 of the front panel 4, with the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 extending from the sides 12 and 14 to a meeting line on the front of front panel 4 and having hinges 24 at the sides 12 and 14.

[0027] The exterior of the front panel 4, including one or both front panel sections 20 and 22, and the back panel 6 can be made of any suitable material Preferably, the front and back panels 4 and 6 are made of a semi-rigid or rigid material, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), and ABS and PC mixture, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), aluminum, or other suitable material know to those skilled in the luggage art. Alternatively, luggage 2 can be a soft-sided, comprised of polyester, oxford cloth, nylon, ballistic nylon, CORDURA?, canvas, leather, or other suitable material known to those skilled in the art.

[0028] Although any suitable releasable attachment can be used, the preferred embodiment shown includes zippers 26 at the edges of the front panel sections 20 and 22 and the back panel 6, except at the sides where the front panel sections 20 and 22 are attached to the back panel 6 by hinges 24 (see FIG. 2). The first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 also have a closure 28 for maintaining the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 in a cooperating closed configuration.

[0029] Although the closure for the front panel sections can be a zipper or other suitable device, the preferred embodiment shown utilizes one or more clasps, snaps, toggles or other cooperating mechanical connections that are configured to hold the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 securely together when the luggage article is in a closed configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the closure 28 is flush with or recessed on the exterior of the front panel 4 for protection during luggage handling during travel.

[0030] The above configuration provides that one of the first front panel section 20 or the second front panel section 22 can be opened independently of the other, without the other being opened, i.e., by opening the closures 28 and unzipping the zipper 26 associated with that front panel section. Moreover, it is preferred that one or both of the first and second panel sections 20 and 22 can be opened when the luggage 2 is in a standing orientation, with the wheels 16 engaging the floor or other surface.

[0031] In this embodiment, it is preferred that wheels 16 are placed on both the bottom 10 of the back panel 6 and the bottom 10 of the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 to keep the luggage 2 standing when one or both of the front panel sections are open. Most preferably, the back panel 6 comprises staggered wheels 16, with two wheels 16 nearer the sides 12 and 14 and back of the luggage 2, i.e., at the back outer corners of the luggage 2, with one or more wheels 16 nearer the middle of the bottom 10, i.e., nearer the center of the luggage 2, relatively close to where the back panel 6 attaches to the front panel 4.

[0032] This wheel configuration is intended to balance the back panel 6 when one or both of the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 are opened.

[0033] The interior of the luggage 2 of the present invention is preferably lined with a suitable fabric or surface and can have any desired interior configuration. However, it is preferred that the back panel 6 include a center hanging support 30, such as a hang bar or locking hang bracket, for receiving and holding hangers 32 for clothing. This allows the user to hang clothing items to facilitate packing and unpacking while reducing wrinkles. As shown in FIG. 5, a bottom portion of the back panel 6 may include a mesh panel 36, preferably with an elastic top edge, to hold the bottoms of clothing articles hung from the hangers 32, as well as to hold miscellaneous articles placed at the bottom of the back panel 6.

[0034] Also preferred is the use of compartments on the back panel 6, including soft or mesh sided zippered compartments 34 at the triangles above the corners of the hangers 32 on one or both sides of the hanging support 30. In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, a removable case 38 may be fitted across a portion of the bottom of the back panel 6, which can be used for holding small articles and removed from the luggage 2.

[0035] The interior of the first and second front panel sections 20 and 22 of the preferred embodiment shown include compartments 40 with rigid, semi-rigid or soft walls 42 to section off the compartments 40. Most preferably, however, the compartments 40 have rigid walls 42 to create structural support for the front panel sections utilizing the preferred closure 28.

[0036] The compartments 40 don't necessarily have front walls to fully enclose the compartments 40, however, a preferred embodiment includes partial or full front walls 44 to hold personal articles in the compartments 40. The front walls 44 can be rigid, semi-rigid or soft, possibly made of plastic, textile or mesh materials as desired for the particular embodiment, and may comprise drawer fronts with a drawer supported in one or more of the compartments 40. As shown in FIG. 4, preferred full front walls 44 include closures 46, such as zippers, hook and loop fasteners, clasps, snaps or the like to allow access to the interior of the compartments 40. As shown in FIG. 5, preferred partial front walls 44 have an elastic edge 48 at the top of the front wall 44 to help keep personal articles in the compartments 40.

[0037] As with conventional luggage, it is contemplated that the luggage 2 of the present invention include one or more handles 18 on a side, top and/or back of the luggage. Most preferably, the luggage 2 has an extendable handle on the top/back of the back panel 6 as is common in wheeled luggage known in the art. It is also contemplated that the luggage 2 have locks, including TSA locks, to secure the luggage article in the closed configuration. The locks preferably include zipper locks between the front and back panels 4 and 6, when a zipped closure 26 is used, and cooperating locks incorporated into the front closures 28 to maintain the luggage 2 in a securely closed configuration.

[0038] Of course, the luggage 2 may incorporate various additional accessories that are known to be incorporated into a or optionally added to a suitcase, such as lighting, battery storage, charging ports, tools, etc. Additionally, the luggage 2 may be provided in any suitable size, shape and/or configuration that may be desirable.

[0039] Variations, modifications and alterations to the above detailed description will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the weight element may be in the form of three weighted rods with three adjacent pockets just in from terminal edge of the fold over panel. All such variations, modifications and/or alternatives are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention, limited only by the claims. Any cited patents and/or publications are incorporated by reference.