Luggage case

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/982,283, filed Oct. 24, 2007, titled LUGGAGE CASE, and claims priority to United Kingdom Patent Application Serial No. 0720533.9, filed Oct. 19, 2007, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

The present invention relates to a luggage case, particularly but not exclusively, to a lightweight luggage case.

Luggage cases are employed to transport items safely and securely from one location to another. It is desirable that they are sufficiently robust as to protect the items being transported but must also be sufficiently lightweight to enable a user to safely carry and/or pull the case between locations. As weight restrictions on commercial aircraft become increasingly stringent, it is also desirable that a passenger\'s luggage case contributes as little weight as possible towards the passenger\'s luggage entitlement.

Relatively robust luggage cases having a rigid body are known, although such cases are typically rather heavy. Lightweight cases having a fabric body and lightweight support structures are also known, but such cases often do not afford the level of desired protection to the items transported inside them.

A conventional method of providing a case with a degree of structural support, and protecting the corners and edges of the case, is to provide exterior piping around the periphery of each side wall of the case. Such piping typically comprises a length of thin steel wire encapsulated in a tube of flexible plastic, which is connected in any desirable manner to the exterior of the case. Such piping is, however, undesirable since it adds to the weight of the case but provides only a very limited amount of structural support.

An object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate one or more problems associated with conventional luggage cases. A further object is to provide a robust, lightweight luggage case.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a luggage case comprising a plurality of walls connected together to define an internal space for receipt of items to be retained in said case, wherein the case comprises an elongate support structure connected to at least one of said walls, said support structure extending adjacent to at least two edges of said at least one wall, said elongate support structure comprising at least one elongate element and at least one fixation member to fixedly connect the or each elongate element to said at least one wall.

In this way, the elongate support structure provides a simple and convenient means of affording a sufficient level of structural support to the case whilst not adding an undesirable amount of weight to the overall weight of the case.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a luggage case comprising a plurality of walls connected together to define an internal space for receipt of items to be retained in said case, wherein the case comprises a support structure, said support structure comprising at least one corner bracket provided at a corner interconnecting at least two of said walls of the case, said bracket comprising a first part mounted internally of said case and a second part mounted externally of said case.

In a preferred embodiment said at least one elongate element is mounted internally of said case. That is, the at least one elongate element is preferably mounted inside an exterior surface of said at least one side wall of the case. An additional layer of material may be provided inside the at least one elongate element so that at least some or all of said elongate element(s) is/are not exposed to the internal space of the case. In this way, a user\'s items retained in the case are protected from contacting the at least one elongate element. It may be desirable in certain embodiments to leave uncovered at least a portion of one or more of the at least one elongate element and/or fixation member so that said portion(s) can be view from the internal space of the case.

The elongate support structure may extend adjacent to three or more edges of said at least one wall to which the structure is fixedly connected. It is preferred that the structure is connected to a side wall of the case. The side wall may represent any appropriate wall of the case which may be considered a ‘side wall,’ but it is envisaged that in many preferred embodiments of the present invention the luggage case will comprise top and bottom walls interconnected by front, rear and at least one side wall. Preferably the elongate support structure extends adjacent to front, back and top edges of said at least one side wall. It may be desirable for the elongate support structure to extend adjacent to four edges of the at least one side wall to which it is connected. In this case, the structure may extend adjacent to front, back, top and bottom edges of said at least one side wall.

In a further preferred embodiment, the elongate support structure may be connected to a bottom wall of the case. The case may incorporate one or more elongate support structures which may or may not be interconnected, for example a first support structure may be connected to a side wall of the case and a second support structure may be connected to a bottom wall of the case. In this case, the first and second support structures may be interconnected by at least one of the fixation members forming part of one or more of the support structures. As a further preferred embodiment, the case may incorporate a pair of support structures connected to opposite side walls of the case and a third support structure may be connected to the bottom wall of the case, said bottom wall interconnecting the pair of side walls. In this case it may be desirable for the third support structure to incorporate a pair of elongate elements, one element extended adjacent to each of front and rear edges of the bottom wall, and each element being connected to a fixation member provided at a corner interconnecting the bottom wall with each of the two side walls.

Alternatively, or additionally, the elongate support structure may be connected to at least one planar member extending across at least one wall of the case. For example, the elongate support structure may extend adjacent to front, back and top edges of said at least one side wall and the structure further connected to a board of material which extends across the bottom wall of the case. Optionally, the case may incorporate a board of material extending across the top wall of the case. Preferably the board is mounted internally of the case so that it is protected from damage from outside the case by the bottom and/or top wall of the case.

As a further option, the case may be provided with one or more handles and the elongate support structure may be connected to at least one of said handles. This may provide the case with a stronger and more robust construction in which stresses between the handle and the case may be more widely and evenly distributed throughout the support structure and thereby the case. The handle may be connected directly to one or more of the elongate elements forming part of the support structure and/or connected directly to one or more of the fixation members of the support structure. If the luggage case incorporates a planar board member as mentioned above in a preferred embodiment, at least one of the handles may be connected directly

The elongate support structure preferably extends along the majority of a length of at least one of the edges of the wall of the case to which it is connected. Preferably said elongate support structure extends along at least around 50% of a length of at least one of said edges, more preferably along at least around 75% of said length, and most preferably along at least around 90% of said length. It is particularly preferred that the elongate support structure extends along substantially the full length of at least one of the edges of the side wall of the case to which the structure is connected.

It is preferred that said elongate support structure comprises a plurality of elongate elements. Any number of elongate elements may be provided adjacent to each edge of the wall of the case to which the elongate elements are connected. A single elongate element may extend adjacent one of said edges of the wall of the case. The support structure extends adjacent to at least three of the front, back, top and bottom edges of said at least one side wall of the case. It is preferred a single elongate element extends adjacent to each of said at least three edges. That is, where the support structure extends adjacent to three of said edges, it is preferred that the structure incorporates three elongate elements, one of said three elements extending adjacent to each of said three edges.

Preferably the or each elongate element extends substantially parallel to the edge along which it extends adjacent to.