Samsonite IP Holdings S.a.r.l.

Samsonite Corporation

George A Teixeira

Dirk Santy

Joris Smeuninx

Leticia Suarez

Janel Twogood

Kenzo Yoneno

William L King

Ethan Mitchell

A luggage articleis provided. The luggage articlemay include a reinforcing board, and a closed loop frame. The reinforcing boardmay include a central portionand first and second side portionson opposing lateral sides of the central portion. The central portion may extend over a rear sideof the luggage article. The first and second side portionsmay extend over at least part of the opposing leftand rightsides of the luggage case. The closed loop framemay match and aligned with the distal edgeof the first side portionor the second side portionof the reinforcing board. The top sectionof the closed loop frame may also curve around the top edges () of the luggage caseto extend at least partially over the top sideto match and align with the inwardly curved side edgeof the top portion

Luggage article frame structure

Luggage panel

Luggage

Luggage cases of the soft-side construction are perceived to be lighter than hard-side cases. However, many rigidifying elements in soft-side cases tend to add to the weight of a soft-side luggage case. This reduces its weight advantage over molded shell luggage cases. Using a textile body in the luggage case to form both the grip of a carry handle and a portion of the outer surface of the luggage helps reduce the weight of the luggage. The textile body may be attached to a thin resilient wire hoop to resist distortion of the luggage case when is it lifted by the handle. This construction saves weight in comparison to conventional luggage case constructions.

Luggage panel with integrated carry handle for soft-side type luggage cases

Luggage handle

The present embodiment provides a neat, tailored accordion gussetwith crisscrossing elastic ribbonsattached to opposite rigid wire framesandof the expandable gusset, as well as a tensioned bungee cordattached to the innermost edge of the center seamof the expansion gusset. These elastic membersare enclosed and sealed from view by the outermost wallof the luggage caseand an inner walldefined by an elastic textile such as Spandex or the like. The resulting expansion gussetcan best be built into a main packing compartment doorof the luggage caseand will expand in response to over-packing of the main packing compartmentby expanding the expansion gussetin response to the pressure of the goods against the restoring force of the various elastic members

Expansion system for a luggage case

Handles to carry luggage handles have been made of a variety of materials and in a variety of styles. Some require specially molded, cast, or stamped parts of plastic, rubber or metal. But, such handles tend to be expensive and heavy. Here a handle is constructed from a pair of webbing pieces edge stitched to form an elongated tube into which a specially constructed filler member or core is inserted. This core comprises a central stiffening member of a tempered steel wire rod and a plastic tube. Several layers of foam padding are wound around this member, and the entire assembly is slid into the cavity formed by the edge sewn webbing pieces to form a grip. The lengths of the webbing pieces are such to form integral straps for attaching the grip directly to a luggage case.

Carry handle for a luggage case

Growing community of inventors

Warren, RI, United States of America

George A Teixeira