Cross-reference to related application

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62/436,227, filed December 19, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Field of the invention

The present invention provides collapsible luggage having a reduced thickness for easier storage.

Background

Various types of luggage, from rolling luggage to duffel bags, are well known. A primary problem with most types of luggage is that they are only typically only used a few times a year and take up much space. There have been attempts to solve the space that luggage takes up in the past. For example, some luggage is sold in different sizes that "nest" within each other. This, however, requires the purchase of multiple pieces of luggage to be an effective solution. Others have also attempted to design rigid, yet collapsible, luggage which takes up less space in the collapsed state. However, many of these solutions utilize complicated mechanisms which may become broken over time. Therefore, a need clearly exists for collapsible luggage that utilizes a simple, but rugged, mechanism for maintaining the luggage in collapsed and opened positions.

Summary

The present invention provides a construction for collapsible luggage which quickly allows the collapsible luggage to be placed in an opened or collapsed state. More specifically, each corner of the collapsible luggage contains a rigid panel which is foldable with respect to a base of the luggage. At least two opposing rigid panels have a corner portion of the panel exposed, allowing those panels to be folded downward first with respect to the other two rigid panels. The zippered top panel for the collapsible luggage can be extended over a top of the collapsible luggage to secure the collapsible luggage in the collapsed position. Brief description of the drawings

Figures 1 A and IB depict perspective views of a first embodiment of the collapsible luggage in an opened state before collapsing.

Figures 2A-4B depict the collapsible luggage in various states of collapse. depicts the sides of the luggage of Figure 1 partially collapsed.

Figure 5 depicts an interior view of a corner of the collapsible luggage.

Figure 6 depicts an alternate embodiment of the corner of the collapsible luggage.

Figure 7 depicts a cross-sectional view of the luggage of Figure 1 A taken along the dotted line.

Figure 8 depicts a cross-sectional view of the luggage of Figure 4 A taken along the dotted line.

Figures 9-15 depict the corner of Figure 6 in various states of collapse.

Figures 16-19 depict perspective views of a second embodiment of the collapsible luggage.

Detailed description

Figures 1 A and IB depict left and right perspective views of a first embodiment of collapsible luggage 100 in an open state before collapsing.

Collapsible luggage 100 generally comprises cover 102, rigid base 104, and sides 106,

108, 110, and 112. As will be explained later, sides 106 and 108 are substantially similar in construction to each other as are sides 110 and 112.

Rigid base 104 may include standard luggage features such as retractable handle 114, wheels 116, zippered pockets, etc., as are known in the art. Side 106 may comprise handle 118 to carry collapsible luggage 100. Similarly, sides 110 and 112 may contain straps 120 which can be used together to carry collapsible luggage 100.

The interior of collapsible luggage 100 may also comprise a number of pockets and/or storage elements such as compartments 122 attached along a top portion of sides 110 and/or 112 (e.g., to provide compartmentalized storage) or zippered compartment 124 on cover 102. It should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that any of these external carrying features or compartments can be modified or removed without affecting the collapsing of collapsible luggage 100.

Rigid base 104 is formed from a reinforced back forming a back of collapsible luggage 100 luggage having sidewall 126 extending upward therefrom around the periphery of the reinforced back. Preferably, a thickness of sidewall 126 is minimized to allow sides 106-112 to collapse therein, allowing for maximum compressibility. Or, if collapsible luggage 100 comprises wheels 116, sidewall 126 should be thick enough to accommodate wheels 116. However, if additional strength is desired for luggage 100, sidewall 126 can be made slightly thicker or even reinforced.

Rigid base 104 can be formed from a molded plastic or rigid metal material and covered with an abrasion resistant fabric, similar to that used on sides 106-112 or cover 102. Sides 106-112 are joined to sidewall 106 in a hinged manner, allowing the collapsible luggage 100 to collapse as will be described with reference to Figures 2A- 4B.

In the opened state, depicted in Figures 1A and IB, cover 102 is joined to a top edge of side 108 via stitching or any other known method. Generally, cover 102 is formed from a flexible piece of material having zipper 130 extending around three sides of cover 102 which mates with a corresponding zipper 130 located on top portions of sides 106, 110, and 112 as depicted. A lower portion of cover 102 may comprise an internal panel to provide some rigidity to the cover. For example, the rigid panel of cover 102 may extend from the top portion of side 108 to the top of zippered compartment 124. Only the top portion of cover 102, which connects to side 106, needs to remain flexible as will be shown later. When closed, the zipper 130 maintains the luggage in a fully opened position and prevents sides 106-112 from collapsing.

Sides 106 and 108 each contain an internal panel (which is covered by a fabric cover and not shown) and is preferably a hard plastic material or a carbon board. The rigid panel in sides 106 and 108 is sized to be substantially the same size as the side. For example, in side 106, the internal panel would extend from hinge 128 to zipper 130 in a first direction and from seam 132 to seam 134 in a second direction.

The internal panel provides structural support for sides 106 and 108 and is covered on both sides by a fabric cover. Generally, the internal panel is square or rectangular as is dictated by the desired configuration of collapsible luggage 100. For example, in collapsible luggage 100 depicted in Figures 1 A and IB, the internal panels for sides 106 and 108 would be rectangular. The fabric cover of sides 106 and 108 surrounding the internal panel is attached to sidewall 126 (e.g., through stitching). For example, the connection of the fabric cover of side 106 to sidewall 126 by stitching forms hinge 128. Because the internal panel is not connected to sidewall 126 (only the fabric cover is), sides 106 and 108 can move in a hinge-like manner with respect to sidewall 126 as will be described and shown later.

Sides 110 and 112 each contain a panel 506 formed from a hard plastic material or carbon board, similar to that within sides 106 and 108. Figure 5 depicts an internal view of collapsible luggage 100 showing the connection between sides 106 and 112 along seam 134. The corner views of the connection between sides 108 & 112, sides 108 & 110, and sides 106 & 110 is substantially similar to that depicted in Figure 5 described below. In this view, compartment 122, attached to side 112, is not depicted for clarity.

Figure 5 better shows how side 106 is connected to sidewall 126 along hinge

128. Similarly, side 112 is connected to sidewall 126 along hinge 502. Fabric cover 508 forms an exterior portion of side 112. Fabric cover 508 is preferably an abrasion resistant material such as ballistic nylon. However, it should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that fabric cover 508 may be any material known for use in construction luggage.

Along an interior of collapsible luggage 100, an entire bottom portion of panel 506 is coupled to fabric cover 508 along seam 510, preferably by stitching. Panels 506 may also be sandwiched between fabric cover 508 and an interior fabric cover so that the majority of panel 506 is not visible.

In some embodiments, the majority of a top portion of panel 506 may also be joined to fabric cover 508 by stitching along seam 512. The ends of panel 506 are joined to fabric cover 508 along diagonal seam 514, leaving triangular end 516 of panel 506 not connected to fabric cover 508. As should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, the angle of diagonal seam 516 depends upon the heights of sides 106- 112 as will be shown later (e.g., to allow collapsing).

Panel 506 is rectangular in this embodiment and has a height extending from seam 510 to approximately just under zipper 130. Panel 506 has a length extending from approximately seam 134 to a similar seam connecting sides 108 and 112.

Preferably, panel 506 has a length such that triangular ends 516 can easily move away from fabric cover 508 without catching or interfering with seam 134.

Preferably, an exterior of each triangular end 516 (four total in this embodiment) have first connector 518 which mates with a corresponding second connector 520 on an interior of fabric cover 508. In the opened state, the mating of first connector 518 with second connector 520 maintains the collapsible luggage 100 in the opened position prior to the closing of cover 102, making loading and unloading of collapsible luggage 100 easier.

First connector 518 and second connector 520 may be any known type of quick release mating connectors such as hook and loop fasteners, buttons, clips, etc. The embodiment depicted in Figure 5 shows hook and loop fasteners being used as first connector 518 and second connector 520. In another embodiment, depicted in Figure 6, a button closure is shown as first connector 518 and second connector 520. It should be obvious that any combination of type of connectors may be utilized in the present invention at any of the four corners of collapsible luggage 100.

The steps utilized to collapse collapsible luggage 100 will now be described with respect to Figures 2A-4B. First as depicted in Figures 2A-2B, the sides 110 and 112 are pressed inward towards a center of collapsible luggage 100 and rotate about their respective hinges (e.g., 112 rotates inward about hinge 502). This causes triangular ends 516 to be moved away from fabric cover 508 as will be described later. Because the fabric cover 508 is not attached to the triangular ends 516 of sides 110 and 112 at the corners, sides 110 and 112 can be partially collapsed before sides 106 and 108 are collapsed as shown in Figures 3A-3B. If snap connectors are used as first connector 518 and second connector 520, they may need be unmated before sides 110 and 112 can be pressed inward.

As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, sides 110 and 112 are able to collapsed and be retained within sidewall 126 while sides 106 and 108 rest on top of sides 110 and 112 as they are folded inward. Cover 102 further comprises first connectors 302 which mate with second connectors 304 on sidewall 126.

The inward folding of side 108 allows cover 102 to be folded over sidewall 126 so that first connectors 302 can mate with second connectors 304 on sidewall 126 as shown in Figures 4 A and 4B. Because of sidewall 126, the sides 110 and 112 can actually fold down past horizontal and into the collapsible luggage 100, allowing sides 106 and 108 to fold completely horizontal. Thus, when fully collapsed, the collapsible luggage 100 can be made completely flat as depicted in Figure 8. This allows for easier stacking of the luggage as there is no "bulge" and multiple pieces of collapsible luggage 100 can easily be placed on top of each other.

The outside of cover 102 may be formed from a baffled construction. The baffles are effective for holding any internal padding which allows cover 102 to remain semi-rigid. Alternative baffle designs, such as a checker-square pattern may also be utilized. The sewing lines that form the baffles allow cover 102 to fold along the seams, preventing the fabric from wrinkling. This also helps to maintain the structural integrity of collapsible luggage 100 when it is fully expanded. Cover 102 also secures straps 120 under cover 102. To open the collapsible luggage 100, cover 102 is first unsecured and the folding process depicted in Figures 2A-4B is reversed.

Figure 7 depicts a cross-sectional view of Figure 1 A taken along the dashed line and Figure 8 depicts a cross-sectional view of Figure 4 A taken along the dashed line. The difference between Figures 7 and 8 shows the great reduction in thickness of the luggage achieved in the present invention. Specifically, Figure 8 shows that the luggage may be collapsed to less than 1/3 of its original thickness depicted in Figure 7. Further, unlike other pieces of collapsible luggage that currently exist, the collapsible luggage 100 is securely maintained in the collapsed state through the use of first connectors 302 and second connectors 304. For example, a hanger hook, or other mechanism could be placed on sidewall 126 and collapsible luggage 126 could be hung from a closet bar in its collapsed state in a closet alternatively to being stored under a bed or on the ground.

Referring next to Figures 9-15, depicts is the corner shown in Figure 5 as collapsible luggage 100 is caused to collapse (as shown in Figures 1 A-4B). As shown in Figure 9, pushing side 112 inward in the direction of arrow A causes first connector 518 to become disconnected from second connector 520. Further, this also causes a portion of fabric cover 508 not connected to panel 506 to bend in direction of arrow B about diagonal seam 514.

As depicted in Figures 9-14, as side 112 is pushed further inward and downward in the direction of arrow A, fabric cover 508 not attached to triangular end 516 folds back over itself along diagonal seam 514 and exerts a pulling force on seam 134, causing side 106 to also be pulled downward in direction of arrow C on top of side 112. The corner is shown fully collapsed in Figure 15 with side 106 resting on top of side 112. As already described, all four corners of collapsible luggage 100 fold in the same manner as the corner depicted in Figures 9-15.

Figures 16-19 depict an alternate embodiment of luggage 100 in which the cover 102 is attached to side 112 instead of side 108. In this embodiment, the seam connecting sides 106 & 110 and 108 & 110 is substantially similar to that depicted in Figure 5. That is, in this embodiment, only side 110 has pane 506 with two triangular ends 516 that are exposed. Side 112 is connected to sides 106 and 108 via zipper 130. Zipper 130 here forms the seam connecting sides 112 and 106 and side 108 to 112 as cover 102 is zippered to close collapsible luggage 100. Thus, in this embodiment, side 112 does not necessarily require an internal panel and can be thought of as an extension of cover 102. However, in order to maintain the rigidity of collapsible luggage 100 in the opened position, it is preferable that side 112 does contain an internal panel similar to that of sides 106 and 108.

In this embodiment, collapsible luggage 100 is collapsed by first exerting a force on side 110 toward a center of collapsible luggage 100. This causes sides 106 and 108 to fold downward on top of side 110 as is successively illustrated in Figures 17-18. Next, side 112 is folded downward over sides 106 and 108 along hinge 1702 which joins cover 102 to side 112. The folding of side 112 allows cover 102 to extend over sidewall 126 so that first connectors 518 and second connectors 520 can mate to secure collapsible luggage 100 in the collapsed position as shown in Figure 19.