American Tourister, Inc.

Laurence Snell

David Bieber

Lester E Carpenter

Wayne I Schmitt

Donald W Stucke

Jeremy S Waltzer

A frame for luggage includes a plywood floor, a channel-shaped main frame attached to the ends of the floor and projecting therefrom, a pair of A-frame brackets capturing the ends of the floor at their bases and being attached at their apexes to the main frame, a pair of major wheels rotatably mounted on transverse axles fixed to the floor centered longitudinally between the ends of the floor, and a caster wheel mounted to said floor at the each end thereof. The luggage frame is strong, yet lightweight and is supported primarily on the major wheels which being on fixed axles maintain the luggage frame tracking in the direction in which it is pulled while the castered wheels provide low friction ground support for the ends of the floor.

Luggage frame with pull handle

Luggage has a generally rectangular container. A vertical sheath is fixed to the inside of the container along an end wall. A rigid handle is slidably mounted in the sheath and when extended is pivotable to a forwardly-inclined attitude for pulling the luggage. A spring attached to the lower end of the handle returns the handle to a vertical position when it is released. Major wheels are mounted on the luggage by fixed transverse axles adjacent the bottom wall and centered between the forward and rearward end walls. A castered wheel is mounted on the bottom wall adjacent each end wall.

Growing community of inventors

Attleboro, MA, United States of America

Laurence Snell