WHEEL ASSEMBLY FOR LUGGAGE Technical Field

The present invention relates to luggage, and more particularly to articles of luggage having wheels to facilitate transporting the luggage from one location to another. Background Art

A relatively recent advent to the field of luggage has been the practice of providing luggage with wheels or other such devices so that the luggage can be pulled along the ground or other support surface for transport from one place to another rather than lifted and carried. The use of wheels has been particularly prevalent for articles of luggage which are quite heavy when packed.

The vast majority of the articles of luggage incorporating wheel assemblies suffer from several drawbacks. One such drawback is the fact that these wheel assemblies are typically mounted to the luggage so that, as the luggage is rolled along a surface, the resulting vibrations, mechanical shock and noise is transmitted through the wheels to the luggage, making such use uncomfortable for the user. Moreover, the cumulative effect of these vibrations deteriorates the strength of the wheel assemblies and eventually leads to their failure.

Another drawback to the wheel assemblies currently being used is the difficulty with which any repairs are made. Since the wheel assemblies are fixedly mounted to the luggage, ordinarily by riveting, it is beyond the ability of the ordinary user to repair or replace same. As a result, the owner is usually forced to return the article of luggage to the manufacturer for repair or replacement of the damaged wheel assembly. Because this procedure is so bothersome and costly, both for the owner of the luggage and for

the manufacturer, these repairs are oftentimes not pursued.

There therefore exists a need for improved wheel assemblies for luggage which are more durable and which will dampen the vibrations and noise which are generated as the luggage is pulled across a surface. There further exists a need for improved wheel assemblies which are not permanently affixed to the luggage so that they can easily be removed and repaired by the user, thereby eliminating the need to return the entire article of luggage to the manufacturer for such repairs. Summary of the Invention

These needs have now been addressed by the invention of an improved wheel assembly for luggage which not only dampens noise and vibrations to make it more comfortable to use, but which also can be readily removed from the luggage to effect repairs. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the wheel assembly includes an inner shroud defining a cavity, an outer shroud having a through passage, and joining means for removably joining the outer shroud in an assembled position to the inner shroud. In a preferred arrangement, the outer shroud may reside within the cavity in the assembled position. In a more preferred arrangement, the inner shroud includes a skirt defining a first leg, a second leg extending at a substantially 90° angle from the first leg, and an arcuate portion defining a smooth transition between the first and second legs. Connecting means connect the inner shroud to an article of luggage.

In the assembled position of the inner and outer shrouds, an axle is engaged between the inner and outer shrouds and held in place therebetween from movement in an axial direction and in a direction transverse to the axial direction. The axle preferably has a diameter of at least about 0.25 inches so that it can dissipate the heat generated as the luggage is

rolled across a surface. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of bushings are assembled on opposite ends of the axle and are engaged between the inner and outer shrouds. The bushings may be formed from a material having mechanical vibration attenuating properties as well as sound attenuating properties. A preferred material in this regard is polyurethane.

A wheel which is rotatable with respect to the inner and outer shrouds is mounted to the axle so that a portion of the wheel protrudes from the through passage in the outer shroud. Desirably, the wheel has a diameter of at least about 2.50 inches.

In preferred embodiments, the joining means includes at least one fastening member extending through the inner shroud for engagement with the outer shroud. Preferably, the fastening member also connects the inner shroud to the article of luggage.

The inner shroud of the wheel assembly may include a pair of support surfaces aligned coaxially on opposite sides of the cavity and the outer shroud may include a pair of support surfaces aligned coaxially on opposite sides of the through passages. In the assembled position of the inner and outer shrouds, these support surfaces cooperate to engage the axle. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an article of luggage is provided incorporating the wheel assembly hereof. The article of luggage includes a plurality of wall members joined together to define a storage compartment, with the wheel assembly connected to at least one of the plurality of wall members. Preferably, at least two wheel assemblies are connected to at least one of the wall members. The wheel assemblies optionally may be connected to two of the wall members. In a preferred embodiment, the article of luggage includes pan means for defining a bottom portion of the storage compartment, and at least one fastening member extends through the pan means and the inner shroud for engagement with the outer shroud.

the at least one fastening member thus removably joining the outer shroud in an assembled position to the inner shroud and connecting the inner shroud in a connected position to at least one of the wall members. In more preferred embodiments, the inner shroud includes a mating surface defining a preselected shape and the pan means includes at least one recessed portion defining said preselected shape, whereby the mating surface of the inner shroud conformably engages the recessed portion of the pan means in the connected position.

The article of luggage may further include a handle connected to at least one of the plurality of wall members. In preferred embodiments, the handle is movable between a retracted position in which the handle resides substantially inside of the storage compartment and an extended position in which the handle resides substantially exterior of the storage compartment. Brief Description of the Drawings

A more complete appreciation of the subject matter of the present invention and the various advantages thereof can be realized by references to the following detailed description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an article of luggage incorporating the wheel assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevational view of the article of luggage of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial exploded view of the wheel assembly of the present invention. Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

In the detailed description which follows, the wheel assembly of the present invention will be described in connection with a utility-type article of

luggage having a rigid frame and a retractable handle. However, it will be appreciated that the wheel assembly of the present invention may be readily incorporated in other types of luggage, including conventional pullmans, duffle bags, garment bags and the like.

Referring to the figures, the utility bag 10 includes a front wall 12, a rear wall 14, a top 16, a bottom 18, a left sidewall 20 and a right sidewall 22. A frame structure 24 not only gives rigidity to and maintains the shape of bag 10, but acts as a reinforcement for the secure attachment of handles, wheels and the like. Frame structure 24 includes an upper molded pan 26, a lower molded pan 28, and a pair of side panels 30 and 32 which connect the upper and lower molded pans to one another. The lower pan 28 is preferably molded so that rear corners 34 and 36 are recessed to matingly receive wheel assemblies for rolling bag 10 across a surface, as described further hereinbelow. Each of corners 34 and 36 thus includes a central arcuate portion 38 and a pair of coplanar faces 40 and 42 on either side thereof. Preferably, upper pan 26, lower pan 28 and side panels 30 and 32 are formed from a strong, substantially rigid material, such as fiberglass or filled plastic. The frame structure 24 is covered by a strong yet flexible material capable of withstanding the abuse to which these bags are ordinarily subjected during handling and use. A particularly preferred material in this regard is a heavy duty nylon fabric commonly referred to as ballistic nylon by the luggage industry. A single piece of this fabric may be wrapped around the upper pan 26 and lower pan 28 of frame structure 24 to form the front wall 12 and rear wall 14 of bag 10, while separate pieces of the fabric may be used to cover side panels 30 and 32 in left sidewall 20 and right sidewall 22, respectively. Edge binding 44 connects the fabric on left sidewall 20 to the fabric on front wall 12, rear wall 14, top 16 and bottom 18. A similar edge binding

46 connects these same portions of fabric to the fabric on right sidewall 22.

Front wall 12, rear wall 14, top 16, bottom 18 and sidewalls 20 and 22 together define an inner protective compartment 48 for storing articles in bag 10. Twin zipper fasteners 50 and 52 enable a major portion 12a of front wall 12 to be separated from the remaining portion 12b so as to provide access to inner compartment 48. The front wall 12, or any other exterior surface of bag 10, may include one or more zippered compartments, such as compartments 54 and 56, which enable articles to be stored in bag 10 outside of inner compartment 48.

The top 16 of bag 10 is ordinarily provided with a carrying handle 58 which is connected thereto by stitching fabric side portions 60 and 62 directly to the fabric covering the top 16. Screw and nut fasteners 64 extend through these side portions 60 and 62, top 16 and upper pan 26 to securely connect carrying handle 58 to bag 10. One sidewall of bag 10, such as sidewall 20, may be provided with a second carrying handle 66. In the embodiment illustrated, carrying handle 66 is formed from ballistic nylon or a similar strong and flexible material, the grasping portion of which is covered by a relatively stiff material such as leather. Carrying handle 66 is connected to bag 10 by stitching side portions 68 and 70 directly to the fabric covering sidewall 20. Fasteners, such as screw and nut fasteners 72, pass through these side portions 68 and 70 and side reinforcing panel 30 on either side of carrying handle 66 to securely connect the carrying handle to bag 10.

The recessed corners 34 and 36 of bag 10 are provided with wheel assemblies 100 and 101 for wheeling bag 10 along the ground or other support surface. A pair of legs 77 (only one of which is shown) may be provided on the bottom 18 adjacent front edge 75 to cooperate with wheel assemblies 100 and 101 for stabilizing bag 10 in a rest position. To facilitate

its transport, bag 10 may include a handle 76 which can be placed in the retracted position shown in Figure 2 when not in use, and then withdrawn to the extended position shown in Figure 1 for tilting the bag onto the wheels and pushing or pulling same. Handle 76 includes two elongated members 78 and 80 which are connected to one another by a handle portion 82. A pair of hollow tubular members 84 (only one of which is shown) are fixedly secured within compartment 48 of bag 10 for telescopically receiving elongated members 78 and 80 in the retracted position of handle 76. At their bottom ends, tubular members 84 include extensions, such as extension 84a, for securing the bottom ends of the tubular members to lower pan 28. The top ends of the tubular members include bushings, such as bushing 84b, which extend through the top 16 of bag 10, including upper pan 26, to hold the top ends of the tubular members in place. Tubular members 84 may be hidden by a fabric liner 86, removably connected within compartment 48 by Velcro fasteners 88 extending along the confronting bottom and side edges of panel 86 and rear wall 14. Optionally, bag 10 may be provided with hold down straps 90 and 92 for securing articles in place within compartment 48. Wheel assemblies 100 and 101 are substantially mirror images of one another. Therefore, for purposes of the present description, the construction of only wheel assembly 100 will be discussed in full detail below, each of the features described in connection with wheel assembly 100 also being found in wheel assembly 101.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, wheel assembly 100 includes a wheel 102 and wheel axle 104 which are engaged between an inner shroud 106 and an outer shroud 108 for assembly to bag 10. Wheel 102 includes a roller bearing 110 which provides for the smooth rotation of the wheel with respect to wheel axle 104 and which substantially eliminates axle wear. The diameter of

wheel 102 is significantly larger than the diameter of wheels typically used on luggage. Desirably, wheel 102 has a diameter greater than about 2.00 inches; diameters of greater than about 2.50 inches being more desirable. Wheel 102 is preferably formed from a durable, elastomeric material which will exhibit exceptional wear characteristics and which will dampen some of the mechanical vibrations and noise generated as bag 10 is rolled across a hard surface. Materials such as hard rubber, polyurethane and the like are particularly preferred materials in this regard.

In order to increase the durability of wheel assembly 100, wheel 102 is preferably mounted on a steel axle 104 having a diameter which is substantially larger than those conventionally found on luggage. Not only do large diameter axles provide superior strength to minimize the instances of mechanical failure, but the relatively large masses of these axles serve as heat sinks to dissipate substantially all of the heat generated as bag 10 is rolled across a surface, thereby minimizing thermal damage.

As shown in Figure 4, the inner shroud 106 of wheel assembly 100 has an enlarged outer skirt which includes a long arm 112 and a short arm 114 joined to one another at a central portion 116 which is smoothly curved to define a substantially perpendicular angle. The central portion 116 includes a recess 118 which is molded to matingly conform to the recessed corner 34 in lower pan 28. Thus, recess 118 has an arcuate section 120 and a pair of coplanar faces 122 and 124 on either side thereof which, when inner shroud 106 is assembled to bag 10, mate with the arcuate portion 38 and coplanar members 40 and 42 on lower pan 28 to provide a strong connection therebetween. Inner shroud 106 is assembled to bag 10 so that the outside edge 106a thereof extends to the extreme edge of the bag, overlying edge binding 44, with short arm 114 extending partially along the bottom 18 of the bag and long arm 112 extending upwardly

along a significant portion of rear wall 14 where its upper end 112a is secured to the rear wall 14 by a pair of fasteners 126. Since upper end 112a of long arm 112 extends beyond the edge of lower pan 28, a secure attachment may be assured by employing a clamp plate 128 to sandwich the fabric of rear wall 14 against long arm 112 of inner shroud 106. By mounting inner shroud 106 in this position, long arm 112 is able to protect rear wall 14 and edge binding 44 from damage, particularly as bag 10 is pulled up stairs or over curbs. Optionally, arms 112 and 114 may be made with similar lengths, or arm 114 may be made with a length which is longer than arm 112, so that arm 114 extends substantially entirely across the bottom of bag 10 to provide a greater degree of protection. Wheel assembly 101 is mounted in a similar fashion to recessed corner 36 on the opposite side of pan 28. Thus, the inner shroud of wheel assembly 101 is able to protect edge binding 46 and the opposite side of rear wall 14 from damage. The outer shroud 108 of wheel assembly 100 has the same general contour as the central portion 116 of inner shroud 106 and lies within recess 118 when assembled to inner shroud 106. Outer shroud 108 has an elongated through passage 130 which is sized to fit over wheel 102 so that in the assembled position of outer shroud 108 to inner shroud 106, wheel 102 can project outwardly for engagement with a support surface. At its interior apex, outer shroud 108 defines a pair of coaxially aligned semi-circular shoulders 132 and 134 which mate with similarly shaped shoulders 136 and 138 formed on inner shroud 106 on opposite sides of recess 118. In the assembled position of inner shroud 106 and outer shroud 108, confronting shoulders 132 and 136 engage one end of wheel axle 104 and confronting shoulders 134 and 138 engage the other end of wheel axle 104, clamping the wheel axle in a fixed position relative to the shrouds and bag 10. In this clamped position, the wheel axle 104 is prevented from movement

in an axial direction by the surface 139 of inner shroud 106 on one side of recess 118 and the surface (not shown) of inner shroud 106 on the opposite side of recess 118. Preferably, the shoulders on inner shroud 106 and outer shroud 108 do not engage wheel axle 104 directly, but rather engage bushings 140 and 142 assembled on the opposite ends of the wheel axle. When formed from an appropriate material, preferably elastomers such as polyurethane, bushings 140 and 142 act to dampen the transfer of mechanical shocks and vibrations from wheel 102 and wheel axle 104 to the shrouds and ultimately to bag 10. Bushings 140 and 142 similarly minimize noise transfer to the shrouds and bag 10 from wheel 102 and wheel axle 104. Wheel assembly 100 may be assembled to bag 10 by a pair of fasteners, such as screws 150 and 152, which extend through apertures in the coplanar faces 40 and 42 of lower pan 28 and the coplanar faces 122 and 124 on inner shroud 106, and into threaded bosses 154 and 156, respectively, on outer shroud 108. Fasteners 150 and 152 thus serve the dual purpose of drawing outer shroud 108 into clamping engagement with inner shroud 106, and joining the entire wheel assembly 100 to bag 10. Should either wheel assembly 100 or wheel assembly 101 of the present invention become damaged, repairs may be made quite easily by the user. To effect these repairs, the user would ordinarily first obtain whatever replacement parts may be needed. Since the wheel assembly of the present invention has a simple construction, there are only a limited number of parts which could potentially require replacement. With the replacement parts at hand, the user merely removes fasteners 150 and 152 in order to remove outer shroud 108, wheel 102, wheel axle 104 and bushings 140 and 142. Inner shroud 106 will remain assembled to bag 10 by virtue by clamp plate 128 and fasteners 126. Once the damaged parts have been repaired or replaced, wheel

assembly 100 can be readily reassembled and secured to bag 10 with fasteners 150 and 152.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Industrial Applicability

The wheel assembly of the present invention can easily be removed from an item of luggage by the owner, and is therefore more easily repaired than previously known wheel assemblies for luggage.