초록 ▼

A collapsible piece of luggage is disclosed. The piece of luggage may have wheels and an extendable and retractable handle. The sidewall, bottom and cover of the luggage have sufficient rigidity to hold their own shape and may be folded into a storage configuration in which the piece of luggage is s

A collapsible piece of luggage is disclosed. The piece of luggage may have wheels and an extendable and retractable handle. The sidewall, bottom and cover of the luggage have sufficient rigidity to hold their own shape and may be folded into a storage configuration in which the piece of luggage is smaller in width and depth. Additionally, the luggage includes an expansion feature that allows the luggage cover to expand outward pyramidally so as to increase the storage volume of the luggage.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A piece of luggage comprising: a bottom panel having at least one rigid portion; left, right, upper, and lower sidewall portions connected to one another so as to form a generally contiguous sidewall connected to the bottom panel and extending outwardly therefrom, the sidewal

What is claimed is: 1. A piece of luggage comprising: a bottom panel having at least one rigid portion; left, right, upper, and lower sidewall portions connected to one another so as to form a generally contiguous sidewall connected to the bottom panel and extending outwardly therefrom, the sidewall having sufficient rigidity to hold its own shape and, with the bottom panel, defining a storage volume; a cover sized to cover and close the storage volume defined by the sidewall and bottom, the cover being attached to at least one of the sidewall portions so as to be movable between an open position, in which the storage volume can be accessed, and a closed position, in which the storage volume is closed; an extendable and retractable handle provided within the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel and connected thereto, the handle being movable between an extended position, in which the handle extends beyond the at least one rigid portion, and a retracted position, in which the handle is substantially within the at least one rigid portion; and one or more wheels attached to the exterior of the lower sidewall portion or the bottom panel; the cover, sidewall, and bottom panel having fold lines in predefined positions such that the piece of luggage can be folded into a storage configuration in which the sidewall, the cover, and portions of the bottom panel are folded into an area defined by the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel. 2. The piece of luggage of claim 1, wherein the left, right, upper, and lower portions of the sidewall each comprise one or more layers of flexible material and one or more pieces of semi-rigid material secured to the one or more layers of flexible material. 3. The piece of luggage of claim 2, wherein the fold lines comprise sections of flexible material between adjacent pieces of semi-rigid material. 4. The piece of luggage of claim 2, wherein the fold lines comprise living hinges in the pieces of semi-rigid material. 5. The piece of luggage of claim 1, wherein the left, right, upper, and lower portions of the sidewall each comprise a semi-rigid material. 6. The piece of luggage of claim 5, wherein the fold lines comprise living hinges in the pieces of semi-rigid material. 7. The piece of luggage of claim 1, wherein the piece of luggage, when in the storage configuration, is smaller in width and in depth than the piece of luggage when not in the storage configuration. 8. The piece of luggage of claim 1, further comprising respective left and right substantially rigid three-dimensional reinforcing structures that reinforce at least part of the bottom panel, at least some of the sidewall portions, and corners of the piece of luggage, the reinforcing structures being hingedly mounted such that they allow the reinforced parts of the bottom panel and reinforced sidewall portions to fold into the area defined by the rigid portion. 9. A piece of luggage comprising: a bottom panel having at least one rigid portion; left, right, upper, and lower sidewall portions connected to one another so as to form a generally contiguous sidewall connected to the bottom panel and extending outwardly therefrom, the sidewall having sufficient rigidity to hold its own shape and, with the bottom panel, defining a storage volume; and a cover sized to cover and close the storage volume defined by the sidewall and bottom, the cover being attached to at least one of the sidewall portions so as to be movable between an open position, in which the storage volume can be accessed, and a closed position, in which the storage volume is closed, the cover including a plurality of geometrically-shaped segments pivotably connected to outer edges of the cover and connected to one another by gusset material toward the interior of the cover such that the cover is capable of assuming two configurations, an unexpanded configuration in which the geometrically-shaped segments are all generally coplanar, and an expanded configuration in which the geometrically-shaped segments are non-coplanar and project outwardly so as to add to the storage volume, the cover being generally pyramidal in the expanded configuration; the cover, sidewall, and bottom panel having fold lines in predefined positions such that the piece of luggage can be folded into a storage configuration in which the sidewall, the cover, and portions of the bottom panel are folded into an area defined by the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel. 10. The piece of luggage of claim 9, further comprising: an extendable and retractable handle provided within the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel and connected thereto, the handle being movable between an extended position, in which the handle extends beyond the at least one rigid portion, and a retracted position, in which the handle is substantially within the at least one rigid portion; and one or more wheels attached to the exterior of the lower sidewall portion or the bottom panel. 11. The piece of luggage of claim 9, wherein the geometrically-shaped segments are selected from the group consisting of generally trapezoidally-shaped segments and generally triangularly-shaped segments. 12. The piece of luggage of claim 11, wherein the geometrically-shaped segments of the cover comprise one or more upper triangular segments, one or more lower triangular segments, a left lateral trapezoidal segment, and a right lateral trapezoidal segment, inner edges of the segments toward the interior of the cover being connected by the gusset material. 13. A piece of luggage comprising: a bottom panel; left, right, upper, and lower sidewall portions connected to one another so as to form a generally contiguous sidewall connected to the bottom panel and extending outwardly therefrom, the sidewall and bottom panel defining a storage volume; and a cover sized to cover and close the storage volume defined by the sidewall and bottom, the cover being attached to at least one of the sidewall portions so as to be movable between an open position, in which the storage volume can be accessed, and a closed position, in which the storage volume is closed, the cover including a plurality of geometrically-shaped segments pivotably connected to outer edges of the cover and connected to one another by gusset material toward the interior of the cover such that the cover is capable of assuming two configurations, an unexpanded configuration in which the geometrically-shaped segments are all generally coplanar, and an expanded configuration in which the geometrically-shaped segments are non-coplanar and project outwardly so as to add to the storage volume; wherein the geometrically-shaped segments of the cover comprise one or more upper triangular segments, one or more lower triangular segments, a left lateral trapezoidal segment, and a right lateral trapezoidal segment, inner edges of the segments toward the interior of the cover being connected by the gusset material. 14. The piece of luggage of claim 13, further comprising: a rigid portion attached to the exterior of the bottom panel; an extendable and retractable handle provided within the rigid portion and connected thereto, the handle being movable between an extended position, in which the handle extends beyond the at least one rigid portion, and a retracted position, in which the handle is substantially within the at least one rigid portion; and one or more wheels attached to the exterior of the lower sidewall portion or the bottom panel. 15. The piece of luggage of claim 13, wherein the cover is generally pyramidal in the expanded configuration. 16. The piece of luggage of claim 13, wherein the geometrically-shaped segments and the gusset material are configured and arranged such that when the cover is in the expanded configuration, the storage volume is increased from about 20% to about 30%. 17. A piece of luggage comprising: a bottom panel having at least one rigid portion; left, right, upper, and lower sidewall portions connected to one another so as to form a generally contiguous sidewall connected to the bottom panel and extending outwardly therefrom, the sidewall having sufficient rigidity to hold its own shape and, with the bottom panel, defining a storage volume; and a cover sized to cover and close the storage volume defined by the sidewall and bottom, the cover being attached to at least one of the sidewall portions so as to be movable between an open position, in which the storage volume can be accessed, and a closed position, in which the storage volume is closed; the cover, the sidewall, and the bottom panel being constructed and arranged relative to one another to fold such that the piece of luggage can be folded into a storage configuration in which the sidewall and the cover fit into an area defined by the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel, and portions of the bottom panel adjacent the at least one rigid portion fold relative to the at least one rigid portion so as to become sidewalls of the storage configuration; wherein substantially the entire bottom is essentially rigid in the storage configuration. 18. The piece of luggage of claim 17, further comprising: an extendable and retractable handle provided within the at least one rigid portion of the bottom panel and connected thereto, the handle being movable between an extended position, in which the handle extends beyond the at least one rigid portion, and a retracted position, in which the handle is substantially within the at least one rigid portion; and one or more wheels attached to the exterior of the lower sidewall portion or the bottom panel. 19. The piece of luggage of claim 17, further comprising respective left and right substantially rigid three-dimensional reinforcing structures that reinforce at least part of the bottom panel, at least some of the sidewall portions, and corners of the piece of luggage, the reinforcing structures being mounted such that they allow the reinforced parts of the bottom panel and reinforced sidewall portions to fold relative to the rigid portion. 20. The piece of luggage of claim 17, wherein the rigid portion comprises approximately the central one-third of the bottom panel.