US20030038008A1

US20030038008A1 - Cart-separable traveling bag

Info

Publication number: US20030038008A1
Application number: US09/940,396
Authority: US
Inventors: Angela Han
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-08-27
Filing date: 2001-08-27
Publication date: 2003-02-27

Abstract

A cart-separable traveling bag includes a traveling bag that may be easily associated with a cart to form a wheeled traveling bag with a telescopic handle to be conveniently moved around, or separated from the cart to enable full collapse of the bag and the cart into two minimized volumes that enables easy storage of the cart and the traveling bag by a use when they are not in use, and reduced warehousing and transporting costs of the cart and the traveling bag to be undertaken by manufacturers and distributors.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cart-separable traveling bag, and more particularly to a traveling bag that could be easily associated with a cart to form a wheeled traveling bag with handle for easy moving around, or be separated from the cart for full collapse of the bag and the cart to enable easy storage thereof.

People use portable bags or other containers, such as trunks, cases, etc., to pack and carry necessary items, particularly when people go to other distant places for traveling, working, visiting friends, studying, etc. Most currently available trunks or traveling bags include wheels or casters and a telescopic handle. When the telescopic handle is in an extended state, a user may conveniently pull or push the trunk or traveling bag at the handle to move around easily in an effortless manner.

To enable mounting of the handle and the wheels on the trunk or the traveling bag, the trunk or the bag must have considerable strong and rigid back and bottom portions for the handle and the wheels to attach thereto without causing deformation of the trunk or the bag. The conventional wheeled trunk or traveling bag with telescopic handle therefore has an increased volume and is not easily collapsible for convenient storage when it is not in use. The big-volume and wheeled trunk and traveling bag also result in increased costs for warehousing and transporting thereof. When there are two or more trunks and/or traveling bags in different sizes, a considerable large space is needed to store them when they are not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a cart-separable traveling bag that includes a traveling bag that can be easily associated with and separated from a cart having a telescopic handle. The traveling bag and the cart, when being separated from each other, may be fully folded to occupy only a minimized space that allows a user to easily store the cart and the traveling bag and reduces warehousing and transporting costs undertaken by manufacturers and distributors.

To achieve the above and other objects, the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention mainly includes a traveling bag and a cart. The cart includes a wheel support, a vertical handle, and a bag seat. The traveling bag is provided at rear and/or bottom side with a plurality of horizontal belts, such that the handle could be extended through a space between the belts and the traveling bag. The traveling bag is also provided at predetermined positions with a plurality of fastening means, such as Velcro tapes, for winding around left and right and transverse tubes of the handle to securely locate the traveling bag on the wheeled cart to be conveniently moved around.

In the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention, the handle of the cart includes left and right tubes and a handle grip connected to upper ends of the left and the right tubes. The left and the right tubes may be two-section or three-section telescopic tubes and could be extended for pulling or pushing the cart, or be telescoped to facilitate storage of the cart.

In the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention, the wheel support of the cart includes left and right wheels, and two open-topped tube holes for receiving two lower ends of the left and the right tubes of the handle. The bag seat is pivotally connected at a rear end to the wheel support, so that the bag seat is pivotally turnable between an extended horizontal position for use and a folded vertical position for storage.

In the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention, the bag seat is provided at a front edge with a leg that together with the left and the right wheels stably support the cart in a stand position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein [0009]
FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention in the state of attaching to a cart; [0010]
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cart-separable traveling bag of FIG. 1; [0011]
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention in the state of attaching to a cart; [0012]
FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the cart for using with the traveling bag of the present invention in a fully extended state; [0013]
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cart of FIG. 4; [0014]
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side view of the cart of FIG. 4 with a bag seat thereof in a folded position; [0015]
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side view of the cart of FIG. 4 with the bag seat thereof in an extended position; [0016]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the cart of FIG. 4 with the bag seat thereof in a half-folded position; and [0017]
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the cart of FIG. 4 in a fully folded state.[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and [0019] 3 in which a cart-separable traveling bag according to the present invention is shown. As shown, the present invention mainly includes a traveling bag 40 and a cart 1. The cart 1 includes a wheel support 10, a vertical handle 20, and a bag seat 30.
The [0020] handle 20 mainly includes left and right tubes 21, 22, and a horizontal handle grip 23 interconnecting top ends of the left and the right tubes 21, 22. The left and the right tubes 21, 22 may be two-section or three-section telescopic tubes. A transverse bar 24 may be fixed to upper ends of the lowest sections of the left and the right tubes 21, 22 for the handle 20 to provide an increased structural strength.
The traveling [0021] bag 40 is provided at a rear side and/or a bottom side with one or more horizontal fastening belts 44, such that the handle 20 of the cart 1 may be extended through a space between the fastening belts 44 and the traveling bag 40. Moreover, a plurality of fastening means 41, 42 and 43, such as Velcro tapes, are separately provided on the traveling bag 40 at predetermined positions for detachably binding traveling bag 40 to the left and the right tubes 21, 22 and the transverse bar 24 of the handle 20, so that a user may conveniently move the traveling bag 40 by pulling or pushing the cart 1 at the handle 20.
The Velcro [0022] tapes 41, 42 and 43 provided on the traveling bag 40 are adapted to wind around the left and the right tubes 21, 22 and the transverse bar 24 of the handle 20 and therefore firmly bind the traveling bag 40 to the cart 1. The horizontal fastening belts 44 provided on the rear and/or bottom side of the traveling bag 40 also provide good binding force to bind the traveling bag 40 and the cart 1 together. When the horizontal fastening belts 44 are sufficient in its number and width, the Velcro tapes 41, 42 and 43 may be omitted. However, another fastening means 45, such as a Velcro tape, may be additionally provided at a lower front of the traveling bag 40, as shown in FIG. 3, for detachably winding around a front bar of the bag seat 30 to ensure secured locating of the traveling bag 40 on the cart 1.
Please refer to FIGS. 4 and 5. The [0023] bag seat 30 of the cart 1 is a horizontal frame. The wheel support 10 of the cart 1 has two wheels 11 mounted to two ends thereof, and two vertical open-topped tube holes 12 connected thereto at predetermined positions for lower ends of the left and the right tubes 21, 22 of the handle 20 to insert thereinto. The bag seat 30 includes left and right arms 31, rear ends of which are pivotally connected to a pivot shaft 13 transversely extended between and through the two tube holes 12 of the wheel support 10, so that the bag seat 30 may be pivotally turned upward about the shaft 13 to a position closely attached to the handle 20.
While the [0024] pivot shaft 13 extends through the rear ends of the left and the right arms 31 of the bag seat 30 as well as the two vertical tube holes 12 of the wheel support 10, it also extends through the lower ends of the left and the right tubes 21, 22 of the handle 20 to connect the handle 20 to the wheel support 10.
The [0025] bag seat 30 is a frame formed from metal bars and includes a leg 32 pivotally connected to a front edge of the frame to be downward turnable relative to the frame, and two laterally outward turnable U-shaped braces 33. Two links 14 are symmetrically and pivotally connected at first ends to points close to a lower side of the wheel support 10, and at second ends to two sides of the leg 32, so that the leg 32 is pulled by the bag seat 30 to turn downward toward a bottom side of the bag seat 30 when the latter is pivotally turned upward, allowing the cart 1 in a folded state to occupy an even smaller space, as shown in FIG. 6. The left and the right U-shaped braces 33 are located on a top of the bag seat 30 with their two ends at an open side pivotally connected to the bag seat 30, so that they could be pivotally turned leftward and rightward, respectively, to together provide an increased area for carrying the traveling bag 40 thereon, as shown in FIG. 4. When the cart 1 is to be folded for storage, the two braces 33 may be turned inward to flatten on the top of the bag seat 30 to reduce the space needed for storing the cart 1, as shown in FIG. 8.
To use the [0026] cart 1, first pull the handle 20 to the extended state with the bag seat 30 turned into the horizontal position. When the bag seat 30 is turned downward from the handle 20 and the leg 32 is turned upward from the bottom side of the bag seat 30, the two parts move and press against each other to finally stop the bag seat 30 from moving down any further when the same moves into a horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 7. Thereafter, turn the two U-shaped braces 33 leftward and rightward, separately, to provide an increased bag supporting area on the cart 1. Then, extend the handle 20 through the space between the horizontal fastening belts 44 and the back of the traveling bag 40, so that the traveling bag 40 is located on the bag seat 30, as shown in FIG. 1. Finally, use the fastening means 41, 42 and 43 to wind around the left and the right tubes 21, 22 as well as the transverse bar 24 of the handle 20, so that the traveling bag 40 is securely attached to the cart 1.
To collapse the [0027] cart 1, first turn the two U-shaped braces 33 inward, so that they are flatly positioned on the top of the bag seat 30. Then, fully collapse the handle 20 and turn the bag seat 30 upward to closely attach to the collapsed handle 20. While the bag seat 30 is moving toward the handle 20, the two links 14 pull the leg 32 for the latter to pivotally turn downward to abut on the bottom side of the bag seat 30, as shown in FIG. 9. The leg 32 in this position allows the collapsed cart 1 to occupy an even smaller space for easy storage.
The [0028] cart 1 may be easily associated with the traveling bag 40 to form a traveling bag 40 with handle 20 and wheels 11 for moving around conveniently. With the design for the cart 1 to easily associate with and separate from the traveling bag 40, the cart 1 and the traveling bag 40 may be separately folded to reduce the room and accordingly the cost needed by the manufacturer to transport the product. Similarly, the separately folded cart 1 and traveling bag 40 also require reduced space for storage and accordingly reduce a distributor's warehousing cost. These advantages also allow the user to store the cart 1 and the traveling bag 40 easily. Moreover, the user may purchase two or more differently sized traveling bags 40 for selectively associating with the cart 1 depending on actual need.
In brief, the cart-separable traveling bag of the present invention allows the traveling [0029] bag 40 to be used with or without the cart 1 according to actual need, and enables the traveling bag 40 and the cart 1 to be separately folded and stored to reduce warehouse and transportation costs of the product. The present invention is therefore very practical for use.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cart-separable traveling bag, comprising a traveling bag and a cart; said cart including a wheel support, a telescopic handle, and a bag seat; said handle including left and right telescopic tubes, a handle grip interconnected two upper ends of said left and said right telescopic tubes, and a transverse bar fixed to a pair of lowest sections forming said left and said right telescopic tubes; said cart-separable traveling bag being characterized in that:

said traveling bag is provided at a rear or a bottom side with one or more horizontal fastening belts for said handle of said cart to extend a space between said fastening belts and said rear or bottom side of said traveling bag, and/or at predetermined positions with fastening means for separately winding around said left and said right telescopic tubes and said transverse bar of said handle to thereby detachably bind said traveling bag to said cart.

2. The cart-separable traveling bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said traveling bag is provided at a predetermined position with a fastening means for winding around a front edge of said bag seat of said cart.

3. The cart-separable traveling bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel support of said cart has two wheels connected thereto, and two vertical open-topped tube holes provided at predetermined positions for receiving lower ends of said left and said right telescopic tubes of said handle; and wherein said bag seat includes left and right arms, rear ends of which being pivotally connected to said wheel support via a pivot shaft that also being extended through said two open-topped tube holes and said lower ends of said left and said right telescopic tubes, such that said bag seat is pivotally turnable about said pivot shaft between an extended horizontal position for carrying said traveling bag thereon and a folded vertical position closely attached to said handle for easy storage.

4. The cart-separable traveling bag as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bag seat is provided at a bottom side with a leg that could be pivotally turned toward and away from said bottom side of said bag seat, and said bag seat including symmetrical left and right links, first ends of which being pivotally connected to positions close to a lower side of said wheel support and second ends of which being pivotally connected to two sides of said leg for pulling said leg to turn when said bag seat is turned to said folded position.

5. The cart-separable traveling bag as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bag seat is provided at a top with left and right U-shaped braces, two ends of each said brace at an open side thereof being pivotally connected to said bag seat to allow said left and said right braces to pivotally turn inward into a folded position for easy storage of said cart or outward into an extended position to provide an increased area for holding said traveling bag thereon.