Luggage comprising a vacuum device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a container comprising a pump to vacuum the air contained in the container. The pump is combined with the telescopic handle of the container. A check valve in communication with the interior chamber of the container is connected to the vacuum pump for withdrawing air from the container to decrease the volume occupied by the items contained in the container.

Claims

1. A luggage with a vacuum device for storing and transporting articles, the luggage comprising: a generally rectangular housing having four sidewalls projecting upwardly from a bottom wall to form a top opening, and a cover adapted to close the top opening; a sealable compressible internal chamber located inside the housing, the internal chamber having an opening through which the articles are disposed and a sealing fastener to close the opening of the internal chamber, the internal chamber being airtight when the internal chamber is sealed; two manual vacuum pumps adjacent and parallel one to the other along the bottom wall, each vacuum pump being in air communication with the internal chamber to withdraw air from the internal chamber when the internal chamber is sealed thereby reducing a volume of the internal chamber and of the articles disposed in the internal chamber, each manual vacuum pump comprising: a longitudinal plunger having a first extremity extending outside the housing and connected to a handle for connecting each longitudinal plunger of each vacuum pump together, and a second extremity extending inside the housing and connected to a piston; and an air chamber located inside the housing along and adjacent to the bottom wall, the air chamber being adapted to slidably receive the longitudinal plunger and the piston, the piston activating the vacuum pump when moving inside the air chamber; and at least one one-way check valve connecting the internal chamber and the air chamber, the one-way check valve allowing air contained inside the internal chamber to be withdrawn from the internal chamber when the pump is activated.

2. The luggage of claim 1, wherein the plunger and the handle of the vacuum pump form a telescopic handle which, in combination with wheels operatively connected to the housing on an opposite side of the housing where the telescopic handle extends, permit ease of movement and transportability of the luggage.

3. The luggage of claim 1, wherein the sealable compressible internal chamber has a volume which is larger than a volume of the housing prior to removing air contained in the internal chamber with the pump.

4. The luggage of claim 1, wherein the sealable compressible internal chamber is formed by an airtight lining inside the housing.

5. The luggage of claim 4, wherein the housing comprises an expendable section formed by the sidewalls of the housing, the lining being attached to the sidewalls and the expendable section thereof, whereby in use, when air is withdrawn from the internal chamber by activating the pump, the expendable section of the internal chamber compresses on itself by itself.

6. The luggage of claim 4, wherein the housing comprises an expendable section formed by the sidewalls of the housing, whereby in use, when the air is withdrawn from the internal chamber, the internal chamber is reduced in size, the expendable section of the internal chamber being then compressible by a user prior to close the luggage.

7. The luggage of claim 1, wherein the housing of the luggage is airtight when the top opening is sealed with the cover, the sealable compressible internal chamber being then formed by the housing of the luggage.

8. The luggage of claim 7, wherein the walls and cover of the housing are lined with a plastic film that serves to seal the internal chamber.

9. The luggage of claim 7, wherein the housing comprises an expendable section formed by the sidewalls of the housing, whereby in use, when the air is withdrawn from the housing, the expendable section of the housing compresses on itself by itself.

10. The luggage of claim 1, further comprising at least one latch for fastening the cover to the sidewalls of the housing and securing the luggage.

11. The luggage of claim 1, the handle having a U-shape.

12. A luggage with a vacuum device for storing and transporting articles, the luggage comprising: a general rectangular housing having four sidewalls projecting upwardly from a bottom wall to form a top opening, and a cover adapted to close the top opening; a sealable compressible internal chamber located inside the housing, the internal chamber having an opening through which the articles are disposed and a sealing fastener to close the opening of the internal chamber, the internal chamber being airtight when the internal chamber is sealed; two manual vacuum pumps adjacent and parallel one to the other along the bottom wall, each vacuum pump being in air communication with the internal chamber to withdraw air from the internal chamber when the internal chamber is sealed thereby reducing a volume of the internal chamber and of the articles disposed in the internal chamber, each manual vacuum pump comprising: a longitudinal plunger having a first extremity extending outside the housing and connected to a handle for connecting each longitudinal plunger of each vacuum pump together, and a second extremity extending inside the housing and connected to a piston; and an air chamber located inside the housing along and adjacent to the bottom wall, the air chamber being adapted to slidably receive the longitudinal plunger and the piston; the piston activating the vacuum pump when moving inside the air chamber; and at least one one-way check valve connecting the internal chamber and the air chamber, the one-way check valve allowing air contained inside the internal chamber to be withdrawn from the internal chamber when the pump is activated; and wherein the plunger and the handle of the vacuum pump form a telescopic handle which, in combination with wheels operatively connected to the rectangular housing on an opposite side of the housing where the telescopic handle extends, permit ease of movement and transportability of the luggage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIGS. 1A to 1G are schematic illustrations of the steps performed to vacuum the air contained in the luggage.

(3) FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a first embodiment of the luggage of the present invention.

(4) FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are perspective views of a second embodiment of the luggage of the present invention.

(5) FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a third embodiment of the luggage of the present invention.

(6) FIGS. 5A to 5G are schematic illustrations of the steps performed to vacuum the air contained in the luggage having a double handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(7) A novel luggage comprising a vacuum device will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment(s), it is to be understood that the embodiment(s) described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

(8) The luggage 10 is adapted to be hermetically sealed with the help of the hand held vacuum pump 12. The telescopic handle of the luggage comprises a handle 36 and a plunger 25 and this plunger 25 interacts with the piston 32 to activate the vacuum pump 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the luggage 10 comprises the vacuum pump 12 which is connected to a check valve 76 (schematically illustrated) that is in communication with the interior chamber 30 to enable the vacuum pump 12 to withdraw or suck air from the chamber 30. The vacuum pump also comprises an air chamber 13. To remove the air contained in the housing or chamber 30, a user pushes 80 and pulls 81 on the handle 36 as for a manual pump. To vacuum the air contained in the chamber 30, the user first hermetically closed the luggage 10 and then activates the vacuum pump 12 using the handle 36 as described previously. In FIGS. 1A to 1C, it is shown that by applying a force 80 to the handle 36, the plunger 25 and the piston 32 moves downwardly until the piston 32 is at its lowest position illustrated in FIG. 1C. The user then pulls 81 on the handle 36 as shown in FIGS. 1D to 1F. By doing so, the air contained in the chamber 30 is sucked out thereby reducing the volume of the articles contained in the chamber 30. The flow of the air is illustrated by the arrows 82. FIGS. 5A to 5G show another embodiment of the present invention having a double handle 536.

(9) As shown in FIG. 2A, a preferred embodiment of the luggage 10 comprises a generally rectangular box or housing having four sides or sidewalls 16, 18, 20, and 22 which project vertically upwardly from a bottom wall 24 to form a top opening 26 and a closure member or cover 28 adapted to form a closed accessible interior chamber 30 for storing articles. The luggage comprises a hermetic or airtight lining 50 made from a polymer or from a polymeric fabric, for example. The lining 50 comprises an opening 52 through which the articles are disposed, the lining 50 is comprised in the internal chamber 30. The opening 52 can be hermetically closed using sealing means such as a hermetic slide fastener 56. It is to be noted that the overall volume of the lining 50 is preferably larger than the volume of the luggage 10.

(10) In use, articles are disposed inside the chamber 30 and then the chamber 30 is closed using the hermetic slide fastener 56 shown in FIG. 2B. Then, the user activates the manual pump 12 using the handle 36 to remove the air contained in the chamber 30. The volume of the articles then decrease as the air contained in the articles and between them is sucked out of the chamber 30 through the check valves. It is to be understood that to be able to close the luggage 10, the reduced volume of the articles should be almost equal or smaller than the volume of the luggage 10 itself. The luggage 10 can then be closed using a slide fastener 56 and/or with fasteners or other means as already known in the art for luggage.

(11) FIGS. 3A and 3B show another embodiment of the present invention. The luggage 210 comprises a hermetic lining 250 having an opening 252 which is hermetically closed using slide fastener 56 as shown previously in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The luggage 210 comprises an expandable section 290. It is to be noted that the lining 250 may be attached to the walls of the luggage 210 and to the expandable section 290 or not. In use, when the articles have been disposed in the chamber 230, this chamber 230 is then hermetically sealed using sealing means. The user then activates the manual pump 212 as described previously. In a first case, when the lining 250 is attached to the walls of the luggage 210, when the air is removed from the chamber 230, the expandable section 290 will compress on itself by itself. In a second case, when the lining 250 is not attached to the walls of the luggage 210, only the chamber 230 will reduce of size. The user will compress the expandable section 290 himself prior to close the luggage using known means in the art.

(12) FIGS. 4A and 4B show a further embodiment of the present invention. The luggage 310 comprises a chamber 330 that is hermetically sealed when the cover 328 is closed. The chamber 330 is sealed using sealing means such as a hermetic slide fastener 358. In use, the articles are disposed in the chamber 330 of the luggage 310 and then the cover 328 is closed using the sealing means. Then, the user activates the manual pump 312 using the handle 336 to remove the air that is contained in the chamber 330. By doing so, the expandable section 390 will collapse since the volume of the chamber 330 is forced to decrease. When the expandable section 390 is completely or partially collapsed, the user fastens the latches 366 to secure the luggage.

(13) FIGS. 5A and 5B show an embodiment of the luggage 500 wherein the handle 536 is U-shaped and wherein each plunger or extremity 525 of the U-shaped handle is connected to a vacuum pump 512.

(14) FIGS. 5A and 5B show an embodiment of the luggage wherein the handle 536 is U-shaped and wherein each plunger or extremity 525 of the U-shaped handle is connected to a vacuum pump.

(15) While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment(s) of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.