Retractable spinner wheels for a luggage case
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
A45C-005/14
A45C-013/26
출원번호
US-0188893
(2014-02-25)
등록번호
US-9468277
(2016-10-18)
발명자
/ 주소
King, William L.
출원인 / 주소
Samsonite IP Holdings S.a.r.l.
대리인 / 주소
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
1인용 특허 :
17
초록▼
A luggage case may include front, back, side, top, and bottom walls. At least one recess may be defined by at least one of the walls near the luggage case's bottom end. Two or more spinner wheel assemblies may be joined to at least one of the walls proximate the luggage case's bottom end. Each spinn
A luggage case may include front, back, side, top, and bottom walls. At least one recess may be defined by at least one of the walls near the luggage case's bottom end. Two or more spinner wheel assemblies may be joined to at least one of the walls proximate the luggage case's bottom end. Each spinner wheel assembly may be configured to pivot its at least one wheel from a first position where the at least one wheel engages a support surface to allow the luggage case to be wheeled on the support surface to a second position where the least one wheel is positioned within one of the at least one recess and does not project beyond the bottom wall. An actuation mechanism that includes a user engagement component and at least one actuation assembly may be used to move the wheels between their first and second positions.
대표청구항▼
1. A luggage case comprising: opposing front and back walls forming major faces of the luggage case;opposing side walls forming side faces of the luggage case and extending between the opposing front and back walls;opposing top and bottom end walls forming top and bottom ends of the luggage case whe
1. A luggage case comprising: opposing front and back walls forming major faces of the luggage case;opposing side walls forming side faces of the luggage case and extending between the opposing front and back walls;opposing top and bottom end walls forming top and bottom ends of the luggage case wherein the front, back, side, top end, and bottom end walls together define an outer structure and enclosed space of the luggage case;at least one recess defined by at least one of the walls proximate the bottom end of the luggage case;at least one pair of spinner wheel assemblies joined to at least one of the walls proximate the bottom end of the luggage case, each spinner wheel assembly including at least one wheel that rotates about at least two orthogonal axes, and each spinner wheel assembly pivots about a pivot axis from a first position where the at least one wheel projects beyond the bottom end wall to engage a support surface to allow the luggage case to be wheeled on the support surface to a second position where the least one wheel is positioned within one of the at least one recess and does not project beyond the bottom end wall; andan actuation mechanism including a user engagement component and at least one actuation assembly, the user engagement component movably joined to one of the walls of the luggage case at a location remote from the spinner wheel assemblies, the at least one actuation assembly operatively associated with the user engagement component and operatively associated with at least one of the spinner wheel assemblies, the at least one actuation assembly comprising: at least one pulley; andat least one cable wrapped around the at least one pulley and operably connected to the user engagement component and the at least one wheel;wherein: selective movement of the user engagement component actuates the at least one cable to pivot the at least one wheel of each spinner wheel assembly operatively associated with the at least one actuation assembly between the first and second positions; andeach spinner wheel assembly of each pair of spinner wheel assemblies pivots toward the other when pivoted about its respective pivot axis to its respective second position. 2. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first position is an operational position of the at least one wheel and the second position is a storage position of the at least one wheel, and the user engagement component rotates between a first position that corresponds to the storage position of the at least one wheel and a second position that corresponds to the operational position of the at least one wheel. 3. A luggage case as claimed in claim 2 wherein the actuation mechanism is configured to allow the user engagement component to rotate from the first position of the user engagement member to the second position of the user engagement component even if the at least one wheel of any of the spinner wheel assemblies does not pivot from the storage position to the operational position. 4. A luggage case as claimed in claim 3 wherein the at least one cable comprises a connector with a slot, the luggage case includes a telescoping tow handle housing proximate the user engagement component, the telescoping tow handle housing includes a curved slot, and an elongated member is joined to the user engagement component and extends through the slot and the curved slot. 5. A luggage case as claimed in claim 2, wherein the actuation mechanism is configured to allow the user engagement component to rotate from the second position of the user engagement member to the first position of the user engagement component even if the at least one wheel of any of the spinner wheel assemblies is prevented from moving from the operational position to the storage position by an obstruction. 6. A luggage case as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the at least one actuation assembly includes a spring operatively associated with the user engagement component and operatively associated with the at least one wheel of at least one of the spinner wheel assemblies, and the spring elongates when the at least one wheel operatively associated with the spring is prevented from moving from the operational position to the storage position. 7. A luggage case as claimed in claim 2 wherein the at least one actuation assembly comprises a spinner wheel spring operatively associated with the at least one wheel of one of the spinner wheel assemblies, and the spinner wheel spring biases the at least one wheel associated with the spinner wheel spring to either the operational position or the storage position. 8. A luggage case as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a lock assembly operatively associated with the at least one wheel of one of the spinner wheel assemblies and configured to lock the at least one wheel associated with the lock assembly in the operational position. 9. A luggage case as claimed in claim 8 wherein at least one pulley comprises a cam surface and a disc with a slot that are operatively associated with the at least one wheel associated with the lock assembly and that are operatively associated with the lock assembly, and the disc is joined to the at least one pulley in such a manner that the at least one pulley rotates relative to the disc within a predefined rotational range and also rotates in conjunction with the disc for another predefined rotational range. 10. A luggage case as claimed in claim 9 wherein the lock assembly includes a lock housing, a bias member, and an engagement member biased by the bias member to project from the lock housing and configured to slide relative to the lock housing, at least an end portion of the engagement member is received within the slot of the disc when the at least one wheel associated with the lock assembly is positioned in the operational position, and rotation of the at least one pulley relative to the disc removes the engagement member from slot in the disc via engagement of the engagement member with the cam surface of the at least one pulley. 11. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein the user engagement component comprises a dial or a lever, and the user engagement component is movably joined to the back wall of the luggage case. 12. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein the user engagement component includes a detent configured to resist movement of the user engagement position at positions of the user engagement component corresponding to the first and second positions of the at least one wheel of the spinner wheel assemblies. 13. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein the user engagement component comprises a telescoping tow handle including at least one rack that engages at least one gear operatively associated with the at least one actuation assembly, extension of the tow handle pivots the at least one wheel to the first position, and retraction of the tow handle pivots the at least one wheel to the second position. 14. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one spinner wheel assembly is configured to rotate its at least one wheel to a desired orientation relative to the walls of the luggage case. 15. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the at least one recess includes at least one open side. 16. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the least one recess includes an elongated rib projecting from an upper surface defining the recess, and the elongated rib is received between a gap of the at least one wheel of at least one of the spinner wheel assemblies when the at least one wheel is positioned in the second position. 17. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one pair of spinner wheel assemblies comprises four spinner wheel assemblies with each spinner wheel assembly positioned proximate a corner of the luggage case. 18. A luggage case as claimed in claim 17 wherein the at least one actuation assembly comprises two actuation assemblies with each actuation assembly joined to two of the four spinner wheel assemblies. 19. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an opening line formed in said side faces and end walls along which separates said luggage case into a lid and base to allow access to the enclosed space within the luggage case. 20. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a hardside luggage case wherein the front, back, side, and end walls are rigid and self-supporting. 21. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one pulley further comprises a first pulley and a second pulley, wherein the at least one cable wraps around both the first pulley and the second pulley. 22. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one pulley comprises a first pulley and a second pulley; andthe at least one cable comprises a first cable and a second cable; whereinthe first cable is wrapped around the first pulley and the second cable is wrapped around the second pulley.
연구과제 타임라인
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
이 특허에 인용된 특허 (17)
King William L. ; Crumrine David, Automatically extendable and retractable wheel assembly for luggage.
Nykoluk, Cory O.; Nordstrom, Mark B.; O'Shea, Jr., James Edward, Method of and device for extending and retracting the wheels of a piece of towable baggage.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.