This invention relates to improvements in and relating to an improved article of luggage for use by travellers and in particular to an improved construction of a wheeled article of luggage.

Generally suitcases, or other articles of luggage, can be divided into 'hard' and 'soft' constructions. Broadly, hard articles of luggage are those in which the top, bottom and sides cannot be pierced by a blade or needle (or at least substantially resist this) and those that are not of 'hard' construction are considered to be of 'soft' construction.

Hard articles of luggage are generally formed from shells of a moulded plastics material. Such a material needs to be sufficiently robust to withstand the various environments to which the article of luggage will be subjected.

For example articles of luggage used in air travel will be manhandled at various stages, by a user when transporting the article of luggage to an airport, by staff in conveying the article of luggage onto and off an aircraft and then to a baggage reclaim area, and again by a user when retrieving the article of luggage and transporting of the article of luggage to the intended destination. It is known to provide an article of luggage comprising two shells of moulded plastics material hinged together to define an internal storage volume. The shells are releasably retained to one another by a suitable fastening means such as a zip fastener. The shells may be moved apart (to an open configuration) when the fastening means is released and are held together (in a closed configuration) when the fastener is secured.

One end of the article of luggage is provided with a number of wheel assemblies. Typically two such wheel assemblies are provided at the or towards the corners of one end of each shell . A carrying handle is located on a top surface of the article of luggage and conveniently a second carrying handle is provided on a side surface of the article of luggage. Such handles are used for lifting of the article of luggage or manhandling of the article of luggage when required.

The shells may be patterned or otherwise marked to distinguish a rear of the article of luggage and a front face of the article of luggage. For example the carrying handle(s) are provided on the shell defining the rear of the article of luggage. Typically the front shell is shaped, for example provided with a curved surface, while the rear shell is more box-shaped.

A telescopic towing handle structure which is moveable between a user towing position and a retracted stowage position is typically provided to enable transport of the article of luggage. Such towing handle structures are provided on the rear shell and comprise fixed tubes located within the rear shell that are engaged by retractable tubes forming the telescopic towing handle.

In practice a user tips the article of luggage about the wheel assemblies located at the rear corners of the article of luggage. Given the loading of the article of luggage within the storage volume, this has the effect of shifting the centre of gravity of the article of luggage. In the case of a fully or heavily loaded article of luggage this shift of the centre of gravity and transfer of weight causes undue stress on the hand and wrist of a user.

Moreover, in practice, for example when in a queue or on a smooth surface, a user does not want to repeatedly tip the article of luggage, but rather seeks to tow or push the article of luggage along on the four wheel assemblies using the telescopic handle without intending to tip the article of luggage onto two wheels. However, the location of the handle in line with the edge of the article of luggage also causes undue stress on the hand and wrist of a user as the spacing between the centre of gravity of the article of luggage and the edge of the article of luggage will require an awkward application of pressure to cause the article of luggage to move on its wheels. Further since the user is seeking to maneuver the article of luggage while it is close to their body there is a risk of the article of luggage bumping or otherwise colliding with the legs and/or feet of the user while being guided in this way, a risk that any inadvertent tipping article of luggage caused by the awkward application of pressure will increase. It is an advantage of the present invention that it addresses these problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an article of luggage adapted for movement on a plurality of wheel assemblies comprises a front facing moulded shell having a sloped major surface and a rear facing moulded shell, each shell being provided at one end with first and second wheel assemblies, and a telescopic handle structure moveable between a user towing position and a retracted stowage position and comprising a pair of fixed tubes and a retractable handle assembly, in which the fixed tubes of the telescopic handle structure are located adjacent the sloped major surface of the front facing moulded shell.

Preferably, the retractable handle assembly comprises a grip portion, the grip portion when in the user towing position being substantially aligned with a mid plane of the article of luggage. More preferably, the grip portion when in the user towing position is substantially aligned with fastening means securing the moulded shells together.

Preferably, the fixed tubes of the telescopic handle structure are located within the front facing moulded shell.

Preferably, the sloped major surface of the front facing moulded shell is arcuate. More preferably, the fixed tubes of the telescopic handle structure are similarly arcuate. Preferably the retractable handle structure comprises a single set of retractable tubes. Alternatively, the retractable handle structure comprises a set of nested retractable tubes for co-operating with the fixed tubes of the telescopic handle structure.

Preferably, each of the front facing moulded shell and the rear facing moulded shell are provided with two wheel assemblies.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, in relation to the attached Figures, in which

Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of an article of luggage in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the article of luggage shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a side sectional view of an article of luggage in accordance with the invention showing a first arrangement of the towing handle structure; and

Figure 4 shows a side sectional view of an article of luggage in accordance with the invention showing a second arrangement of the towing handle structure.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, there can be seen of an article of luggage 2 in accordance with the present invention.

The article of luggage comprises a first moulded plastics shell 4 and a second moulded plastics shell 6, the two shells being hinged together to define an internal storage volume. The shells are releasably retained to one another by a suitable fastening means such as a zip fastener 8 provided at a periphery of each of the first and second shells 4,6. The first and second shells 4,6 are further provided with a hinged connection (not shown) located between adjacent peripheral portions of the first and second shells 4,6.

The fastening means and hinged connection may be secured to each of the first and second shells 4,6 in any suitable manner. The first and second shells may be moved apart about the hinged connection (to an open configuration) when the fastening means 8 is released and are held together (in a closed configuration) when the fastening means 8 is secured.

The second moulded shell 6 forms a rear of the article of luggage and is generally box shaped comprising (having regard to Figure 2) a generally vertical major surface 22 forming the rear surface of the article of luggage edged, that is bounded around its periphery, by first and second shorter end surfaces 24, 26 (respectively forming the a part of the top and bottom of the article of luggage) and first and second longer side surfaces 28, 30 (respectively forming a part of the left and right sides of the article of luggage).

A first carrying handle 32 is provided on the first shorter end surface 24 and second carrying handle 34 is provided on the right hand longer side surface 30. Each of the first and second carrying handles 32,34 is secured to the second moulded shell 6 in any convenient manner.

First and second wheel assemblies 38 are located on the second shorter end surface 26 adjacent the corners with the major surface 22 and each of the associated side surfaces 28, 30.

It is to be noted that in the present invention the rear shell 6 is not provided with a towing handle assembly. This has as an advantage that the interior surface of the flat major surface 22 of the shell 6 may be used as a flat packing surface, that is the user is not packing around the tubes of a towing handle structure.

The first moulded shell 4 forms a front of the article of luggage 2 and is provided with a shaped major surface 12 forming the front surface of the article of luggage 2, the shaped major surface 12 being edged by a first relatively thinner shorter end surface 14 and a second relatively thicker shorter end surface 16 (respectively forming a part of the top and bottom of the article of luggage) and first and second longer side surfaces 18, 20 each having a tapered section (respectively forming a part of the left and right sides of the article of luggage).

As may best be seen in Figure 2 the sloped major surface 12 is arcuate in form. First and second wheel assemblies 36 are located on the second relatively thicker shorter end surface 16 adjacent the corners with the sloped major surface 12 and the associated tapered side surfaces 18,20.

A telescopic handle structure 40 (Figures 1, 2 and 3) is provided comprising a pair of fixed tubes 42 (Figure 3) and a retractable handle assembly, in which the fixed tubes 42 of the telescopic handle structure are located adjacent the sloped major surface 12 of the front facing moulded shell 4. The telescopic towing handle structure 40 is moveable between a user towing position and a retracted stowage position.

The telescopic towing handle structure 40 is in the user towing position in Figures 2, 3 and 4. In this position, an upper portion of the telescopic towing handle structure, in practice formed by a grip portion 44 of the telescopic towing handle structure, is located substantially above a mid plane of the article of luggage 2. This mid plane is broadly in line with a plane defined by the fastening means 8 securing the moulded shells 4,6 together.

Since the grip portion is located in this region it will be closer to a plane running through the centre of gravity of the case than is the case for articles of luggage in which the telescopic towing handle structure is located at the rear of the article of luggage. Most often as a result of the illustrated construction the grip portion is coincident with such a plane. As a result, an article of luggage in accordance with the invention is much easier to tow by a user. This has as an advantage that this makes it easier for a user to tip and move the article of luggage as there is less stress placed upon the hand and wrist of the user than in the prior art arrangements discussed above. There is a further advantage in comparison with such structures that when an article of luggage in accordance with the invention is tipped on two of the wheel assemblies, the wheel assemblies are naturally spaced further from the body (legs and feet) of the user.

Figure 3 shows a first arrangement of the towing handle structure 40. The towing handle structure 40 comprises the pair of spaced fixed tubes 42 secured at their lower ends to a base plate 48. The base plate 48 is in turn secured to the inner side of the second relatively thicker end portion 16 adjacent the inner surface of the inner sloped major surface 12. Upper ends of the fixed tubes 42 are located by a holding plate 50 (Figure 1), the holding plate 50 itself being fixed to an upper region of the first shell 4 of the article of luggage.

A pair of retractable tubes 46 depends from each end of the handle grip portion 44 and each retractable tube 46 engages with a respective one of the fixed tubes 42. The retractable tubes 44 engage with the fixed tubes 42 in any suitable manner such that they cannot inadvertently be withdrawn from the fixed tubes 42 and in a known manner may be locked in either the user towing position or a retracted stowage position. It can be seen that the fixed tubes 42 and the retractable tubes 46 are shaped to follow the contour of the major sloped surface 12. That is, where the major sloped surface 12 is arcuate, the fixed tubes 42 and the retractable tubes 46 are similarly arcuate, such that in the user towing position the towing handle structure 40 follows the curve of the major sloped surface 2 of the first moulded shell 4.

Figure 4 shows a second alternative arrangement in which the telescopic towing handle structure comprises a series of nested retractable tubes 52. Like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts. Again the nested retractable tubes 52 are shaped to follow the contour of the major sloped surface 12.

These arrangements of the towing handle structure 40 in which the article of luggage is provided with wheel assemblies 36,38 on each of the front and rear shells 4,6 are particularly advantageous when a user is seeking to guide or maneuver the article of luggage on all of the wheel assemblies. This is because the vertical plane of the telescopic handle and the centre of gravity are more closely aligned and as a result the article of luggage has increased stability and is both easier to manipulate and less prone to inadvertent tipping.