Samsonite Corporation

Lawrence J Deliman

William L King

James S Gregg

Daniel G Elles

Rik Hillaert

Elliot J Younessian

Carlo F Zezza, Jr

David W Fiddes

Jon C Nordmark

Robert M Tesman

Wheeled luggage cases include at least two wheels and a handle with which to roll the luggage on these wheels. Most prior art wheel handles require the user to use considerable force to balance the case on these two wheels, either when the case is carrying auxiliary cases or when otherwise fully loaded. The disclosed luggage case has a wheel handle which extends out of and along one side of the case on an arm, and a handle grip mounted on this arm in a way that tips the luggage case forward to better balance over the wheels when carrying varying loads. The wheel handle arm also includes a mechanism that supports the handle grip at different heights to further optimize this load balancing function.

Wheeled luggage case with extendable handle

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

An auxiliary luggage attachment and security tether mechanism secure an auxiliary luggage case to a main luggage case for support on and by an exterior surface of a main luggage case, and secure at least the main luggage case to an object. The attachment mechanism comprises a clutch mechanism, an elongated flexible strap having an inner end fixably attached to the clutch mechanism and the outer end attached to a hook, the clutch mechanism being biased to pull the flexible strap onto the clutch mechanism and retract the hook to the clutch mechanism. A lid is pivotally mounted adjacent to the clutch mechanism and has a selectively open position where the hook and strap are accessible, and a selectively closed position where the lid covers the clutch mechanism and the strap or hook to the extent the strap is retracted onto the clutch mechanism. The lid engages the clutch mechanism in the open position to release the clutch mechanism whereby the strap can be extended from the clutch mechanism. The lid engages the clutch mechanism in the closed position to hinder the movement of the clutch mechanism and fix the length of extension of the strap. A lock mechanism in the lid locks the lid in the closed position, covering the clutch mechanism. The hook at the end of the strap can be replaced in the receptacle to engage the clutch mechanism, and the lid can then be locked to secure the hook and the strap to the clutch mechanism.

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Aurora, CO, United States of America

Lawrence J Deliman