Samsonite Corporation

Elliot J Younessian

Robert L Bromley

Lawrence J Deliman

Joseph Kapushion

William L King

James S Gregg

Daniel G Elles

Luggage cases usually include wheels to aid in their transport. The wheels and their mounting systems must themselves be extremely sturdy, and should not cause weakness or mechanical failure of the luggage case to which they are mounted. The disclosed cantilever wheel mounting assembly 18 includes an axle 22 with a protruding end 26 that fits into an elastomeric mounting block 20 that in turn is received in a corresponding cavity in a molded luggage case shell. A screw fastener 38 passes through one of the walls 15 of the cavity, and through a corresponding hole 44 in the mounting block and through a hole 28 through the end of the axle 22 to hold the assembly in place while permitting the axle to pivot about the fastener when the elastomeric block flexes in response to vibrations and impacts in use.

Wheel mounting system for molded luggage case

There is provided a wheel handle whose functional length is easily extended or shortened with respect to a wheeled luggage case. The wheel handle includes a handle grip mounted atop a pair of longitudinal tubes or rods slidable axially through a bezel fixed upon the luggage case. A mechanism including a minimal number of moving parts permits the user to lock and unlock the position of the extendible/collapsible wheel handle with the press of a spring-biased button. The button movement actuates a helical cam, which rotates a cam follower. Rotation of the cam follower extends or retracts a pair of sliding pins engageable into holes in the longitudinal handle tubes. With the button depressed against the force of the spring, the pins are withdrawn to allow adjustment of the effective handle length. Releasing the button, while the pins are aligned with a selected pair of apertures in the tubes allows the force of the spring to restore the button to its rest position, with the pins engaged into tube apertures to releasably lock the luggage handle in place.

Apparatus for releasably locking an adjustable luggage handle

The invention relates to hard sided luggage shells and other containers manufactured using vacuum forming or pressure forming of thermoplastics. Shells and containers with integrally molded frames are disclosed. The differential pressure formed shell containers have framed openings, but without the need to attach a separate frame element to the molded shell.

Differential pressure formed luggage with molded integrated frame

The invention relates to an apparatus for making hard sided luggage shells and other containers by vacuum forming or pressure forming thermoplastics. An apparatus for making shells and containers with integrally molded frames is disclosed. An apparatus for manufacturing differential pressure formed containers with framed openings, without the need for later attachment of a separate frame element to the molded shell. An apparatus also is disclosed for reducing the undesirable stretching of shell material that occurs during differential pressure forming, particularly the thinning of corner portions of the shell or container. The apparatus of the invention more efficiently utilizes the thermoplastic material by moving material from otherwise offal portions into the molded product. An improved device for severing the offal material from the final product is disclosed.

Apparatus for differential pressure forming shells for hard sided

The inventive process forms a thermoformable preform by pressure laminating a layer of cloth fabric to one face of the thermoplastic substrate, preferably as the substrate is extruded and while still hot from the extrusion process. This fabric/thermoplastic laminated preform can be easily processed in a matched mold press. The fabric should be of a non-stretch type. This non-stretch characteristic, together with its intimate bonding to the thermoplastic substrate, prevents the substrate from thinning in the corner regions. Indeed, because the intimately bonded fabric drags or pulls the substrate from a number of directions as the corner regions are formed, the thermoplastic substrate accumulates and actually thickens in the corner regions, leading to a shell which is remarkably durable and aesthetically pleasing.

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Lafayette, CO, United States of America

Elliot J Younessian