Technical Field

The present invention relates to a travel suitcase, and a method for assembling it, according to the preamble of the respective main claims.

The suitcase in question is of the type commonly used to transport objects or clothing and is usually available in different shapes and/or sizes, e.g., according to the needs of travelers or the type of journey.

More in detail, the suitcase according to the invention is of the type equipped with two or more wheels for ground transport pulled by the user by means of at least one handle.

The present invention is therefore part of the industrial luggage sector or that of the production of accessories for suitcases.

Background Art

State-of-the-art travel suitcases are known which consist of a rigid or semi-rigid container, inside which useful objects such as clothing or other items can be stored in a traditional way. The container is generally equipped with at least one handle for pulling over the ground and consists of two parts or of a generally rigid or semi-rigid containment body, with which is associable a closing cover sealable on the containment body, by means of closing means such as hinges or fasteners. The containment body and cover can also be specular and perform both the containment function.

With the container are mechanically associated two or more wheels for dragging the suitcase over the ground pulled by the user by means of the handle. The wheels are generally associated with the containment body of the container by means of forks, which are often part of supports fixed externally to the containment body.

The handle can be fixed or associated with at least one extendable rod; moreover, depending on the model, size and type of suitcase, the wheels can be two or more than two and associated with the bottom wall of the containment body at one of its short sides or one of its long sides.

Suitcase wheels generally comprise a plastic or metal rim mechanically bearing, fixed externally, an annular rolling body made of rubber or similar materials. The rim has a through hole for inserting a pin supported by a fork which is in turn mounted on the suitcase container, e.g., by means of a plate or a fifth wheel which allows the fork to rotate with respect to a substantially vertical axis.

The inter-positioning is also known of a bearing between the rim and the pin to improve wheel rolling.

The suitcases of known type described above have in practice shown themselves not to be devoid of a major drawback.

In fact, during use it has been found that the wheels of these suitcases generate a lot of noise, mainly due to the fact that the annular rolling body is a solid body totally inadequate for dampening the vibrations caused by the roughness of the ground as a result of dragging the suitcase over the ground.

Therefore, especially in areas where travelers are concentrated, such as stations, airports, hotels and tourist areas, noise pollution produced by pulling suitcases over the ground is to say the least annoying.

In order to avoid this drawback, a suitcase is for example known from patent WO2017/065601 that can be mechanically associated with a removable trolley, e.g., by means of belts, which has wheels much larger than those of a normal suitcase so that they need fewer revolutions to cover the same distance and consequently cause less friction and ultimately a lower level of noise.

The wheels are also suitable to be filled with air or rubber and this feature together with the size of the wheels themselves permits reducing the amount of noise.

This patent does not dwell on the technical details which allow making the air- filled wheel and which can therefore lead to an industrial production which, besides solving the noise problem, also allows production at competitive costs. The plan to install a trolley on the suitcase entails considerable inconvenience, which the user is unlikely to accept. Furthermore, once disconnected from the suitcase the trolley must also be transported and therefore if it too is placed in the suitcase, this requires, e.g., a bag to prevent it dirtying other objects in the same suitcase.

Finally, suitcases are known which are equipped with wheels, each of which comprising a rim with a through- opening and bearing externally associated an annular rolling body consisting of a rubber tire delimiting an air chamber. Such wheel also has two shaped flanges associable with the two sides of the wheel and each having a stem that fits in the through opening of the rim and mechanically couples with the stem of the other flange. Screws are then provided to securely hold the two flanges anchored the one to the other. Each flange also has a peripheral edge which presses against a lateral side of the annular rolling body. More clearly, each lateral side of the tire remains sandwiched between the edge of a flange and a rise in the rim.

The suitcases of known type having the wheel described above have nevertheless shown themselves to be not without drawbacks.

A first drawback lies in the fact that, during use, the sides of the tire tend to come out of the seat defined between the edge of the corresponding flange and the rise in the rim, especially in the event of knocks, or by dragging the wheel transversely with respect to its normal direction of forward movement.

A second drawback is that the suitcase wheel, structured as described above, involves the setting up of a complex and costly production process and has a negative impact on the overall costs of the suitcase.

A third drawback lies in the fact that the method to assemble these wheels has proved quite complex due to the need to associate the two flanges the one to the other and to the need to hold them together with screws.

Description of the Invention

In this situation, the problem underlying the present invention is that of overcoming the drawbacks shown by the prior art known up to now, providing a travel suitcase, which is capable of generating a low level of noise as a result of its pulling over the ground.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a travel suitcase, which is provided with wheels that are structurally simple and cheap to manufacture. A further object of the present invention is to provide a travel suitcase, which is provided with wheels for simple and fast maintenance.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a travel suitcase, which is provided with wheels which have a reliable and completely safe operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling a travel suitcase, which allows mounting, maintaining and replacing the wheels easily and quickly.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the aforementioned objects, are clearly evident from the contents of the claims below and the advantages thereof will become more evident in the detailed description, made with reference to the attached drawings, of the following embodiments which are purely exemplary and non-limiting, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a travel suitcase which the present invention relates to;

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged view of a detail of the suitcase relative to one of the wheels thereof;

Figure 3 illustrates the wheel of the suitcase of Figure 2 in a diametrical section view;

- Figure 4 illustrates an exploded view of the wheel of the suitcase of Figure 2;

Figure 5 illustrates the exploded view of Figure 3 with the wheel components shown in diametrical section and without a planned annular rolling body;

- Figure 6 illustrates an exploded view of a second embodiment of the wheel of the suitcase according to the invention;

Figure 7 illustrates an exploded view of a third embodiment of the wheel of the suitcase according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

According to the figures of the accompanying drawings, an example of a travel suitcase according to the present invention has been globally indicated with reference number 1.

The travel suitcase 1 comprises, in what is a completely traditional way, a rigid or semi-rigid containment body 2 (or which has at least a rigid or semi-rigid wall), usually box-shaped, in particular parallelepiped shaped, inside which the objects required by the user can be stored, such as clothing or other objects for example needed to make a journey. The containment body 2 is generally made up of two parts, i.e. a support body 2', generally rigid or semi-rigid, which usually defines the greater containment volume of the suitcase 1 , and a closing cover 2" associable with the support body 2' by means of closing means such as hinges or fasteners. The support body 2' and the closing cover 2" are advantageously in the form of two shells which, once coupled, delimit the internal containment compartment of the suitcase. They can also be specular and perform both containment functions.

The suitcase also has a handle 3 that can be fixed or associated with at least one extendable rod 30.

The travel suitcase 1 also comprises, depending on the model, the size and the type of suitcase, two or more wheels 4. More in detail, the suitcase 1 may have two or three wheels 4 in line associated with the bottom wall of the containment body at one of its short sides, as in the case of a travel suitcase of significant size, or at one of its long sides, as in the case, e.g., of a trolley as shown in the embodiment in Figure 1.

The wheels 4 can be partially embedded in the containment body 2 and associated therewith by means of a shaped corner piece of the containment body 2 itself, as in the example in Figure 1 , or else they can be completely outside the containment body 2 and associated therewith by means of a support foot 5 of the containment body 2 projecting below the suitcase in accordance with a known embodiment not shown in detail, inasmuch as well known to the technician in the sector. In any case, the shaped corner piece or support leg is equipped with a fork (generally made of a single body piece with the shaped corner piece or support leg), to support the pin which in turn supports the wheel 4 in a revolving manner (or even a pair of wheels 4 side by side).

Furthermore, the wheels 4 can be mounted individually on the containment body 2 or in pairs of wheels side by side and supported by a single pin.

Each wheel 4 comprises a hub 5, which is mechanically connected by means of a pin 6 to the containment body 2 (i.e. to a support foot or a corner piece thereof), and an annular rolling tread 7, which is capable of coming into contact with the ground.

The annular tread 7 is externally mounted on the hub 5 and delimiting an internal air chamber 8, by means of two sidewalls 9 and a curved connector portion 10 which connects the sidewalls 9 with each other.

The sidewalls 9 are advantageously substantially parallel to each other.

At least one side has a terminal portion 91, 191.

In the first embodiment shown, both sidewalls 9 have a terminal portion 91. The curved connector portion 10 is designed to rotate in contact with the ground when the suitcase is pulled by the user through its handle.

According to the idea underlying the present invention, the hub 5 comprises an annular support body 50, provided with a through seat 51, interposed between the two lateral faces of the annular support 50, orthogonal to the annular extension of the support 50.

The annular support 50 is therefore also provided with a retention crest 52, radially projecting outwards, positioned to close the air chamber 8.

In this first embodiment, the retention crest 52 fits in between the internal faces 90A of the two sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7, to close the above- mentioned air chamber 8.

The hub 5 also comprises, according to the invention, at least one retention plate 11 , mechanically coupled to the annular support body 50 by means of anchorage means 12 and provided with a peripheral portion 110 interacting with the terminal portion 91, 191 of at least one sidewall 9 of the annular rolling tread 7, to keep the latter in retention relationship against the crest 52 of the annular support body 50.

In particular, in the first embodiment, the hub 5 comprises two retention plates 11, which are mechanically coupled to the annular support body 50 in a mutually counter-facing position by means of the anchorage means 12.

Such plates 11 are provided with two corresponding peripheral portions 110 placed in abutment against the external faces 90B of the two sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7, in order to compress the latter in retention relationship against the lateral surfaces of the retention crest 52 of the annular support body 50.

Thanks to the present invention, the wheel 4 of the suitcase 1 is not only very silent, due to the presence of the air chamber 8 which dampens the noises emitted both by the unevenness of the ground and by the friction inside the hub 5, but also cheap to manufacture being easily assembled and with easy to prepare production processes.

According to an advantageous embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the anchorage means 12 comprise at least one projecting appendage 13, which extends from a central portion 111 of the retention plates 11 , in a single body piece therewith and is provided at the free end with a connection tooth 14. The anchorage means 12 further comprise at least one seat 53, made in the annular support body 50 and provided with a lateral opening 54 crossed by the projecting appendage 13 and with a step 55, engaged by the connection tooth 14 of the projecting appendage 13.

Thanks to the above-mentioned anchorage means 12, the annular rolling tread 7 remains firmly fixed to the hub 5, its two sidewalls 9 being stapled between the peripheral portions 110 of the retention plates 11 and the retention crest 52 of the annular support body 50.

Furthermore, it is extremely easy to push the projecting appendages 13 of the retention plates 11 into the seats 53 of the support body 50 during the mounting phase. During this insertion operation, the appendages 13 are slightly elastically deformed with the connection tooth 14 that glides in the seat 53 and then snap engages in the step 55 of the seat 53, blocking the retention plate 11 to the support body 50, in a position wherein the same retention plate 11 is susceptible to push with its peripheral portion 110 against the external face 90 A of the sidewall 9 of the annular rolling tread 7.

Preferably, each retention plate 11 has at least two projecting appendages 13 for better attachment of the plate 11 itself to the support body 50, which correspondingly has an equal number of seats 53.

The seats 53 of the support body 50 are preferably provided offset on the two lateral faces thereof, to allow the seat 53 reaching a depth sufficient to allow the connection tooth 14 to engage to the support body 50 beyond half the thickness of the same support body 50, so as to ensure a better hold of the retention plate 11 against the sidewall 9 of the annular rolling tread 7.

Advantageously, the hub 5 comprises at least one bearing 15, mounted in the through seat 51 of the support body 50 against a shoulder 56 defined by an inner ring of the support body 50 itself.

The retention plates 11 are provided with a through hole 20 in which the support pin 6 of the wheel 4 is fitted. The same pin 6 is inserted engaged in the hole of the bearing 15 to remain integral with the inner ring of the bearing 15 itself, which advantageously remains substantially fixed. The outer ring of the bearing 15 is instead made integral by the sandwich made by the retention plates 11 fastened to the supporting body 50 and therefore rotates together with the latter, the retention plates 11 themselves and the annular rolling tread 7, around the rotation axis of the wheel 4.

Preferably, two bearings 15 are provided for each wheel which are fitted in the through seat 51 of the support body 50 from its opposite lateral faces and each against the provided shoulder 56 which acts as end stop during assembly of the hub 5.

More in detail, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying figures, the retention crest 52 of the annular support body 50 has a substantially frustoconical shape with the sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7 adhering to the lateral surfaces of the crest 52 and preferably tapered towards the free end thereof.

Preferably, the sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7 have external faces 90B that are substantially parallel to each other and internal faces 90A that are tilted with respect to the middle plane of the wheel 4 with an equal tilt to that of the lateral surfaces of the crest 5.

The external faces 90B of the sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7 preferably have an internal lowered terminal portion 91 (which in the example coincides with the part of the sidewall 9 which engages with the peripheral portion 110 of the plate 11) defining an annular recess in which a corresponding peripheral portion 110 of the retention plate 11 is inserted at least partly embedded. This way, the retention plates 11 do not significantly protrude from the annular rolling tread 7 thus avoiding receiving knocks during the use of the suitcase 1.

In order to increase the anchorage of the annular rolling tread 7 to the hub 5, the peripheral portions 110 of the retention plates 11 are provided with knurling, ribbing or a plurality of projecting elements (in this example there are circular ribs 112) to exert a better seal against the external face of the two sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7.

Basically the rubber of the annular rolling tread 7 deforms at the compression area against the knurling, ribbing or other projecting elements, making the connection to the hub 5 firmer.

Advantageously, the lateral surfaces of the crest 52 are also provided with knurling, ribbing (indicated by 112' in Figure 4) or with a plurality of projecting elements for better seal against the internal face 90 A of the two sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7.

The curved connector portion 10 of the annular rolling tread 7 has reduced thickness with respect to that of the sidewalls 9 of the same rolling annular tread 7 and preferably smaller than or equal to half the thickness of the sidewalls 9. This allows the curved connector portion 10 of the annular rolling tread 7 to be mechanically supported by the sidewalls 9 and at the same time to deform easily by rotating on the roughness of the ground so as to cushion the impulses and thus ultimately generate a reduced noise emission during the use of the suitcase even on particularly irregular surfaces such as e.g. roads.

Finally, it should be noticed that the wheel of the suitcase 1 according to the invention makes it possible to easily make the lateral plates 11 of the desired shape even only for aesthetic reasons such as e.g. with spokes or rims which connect a central portion to the peripheral portions 110.

Advantageously moreover, the annular rolling tread 7 is constituted by an elastomer, in particular SEBS Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene preferably selected with an elasticity defined by its elongation at break with percentage value comprised between 650 and 850 with ISO 37 - DIN 53455-53504 measurement method.

Advantageously, the same elastomer has hardness with three 2 mm superimposed plates with ISO 868 - DIN 53505 measurement method amounting to 50-60 Shore A.

The support body 50 is instead preferably made of plastic material and in particular of 66/6 polyamide with medium viscosity.

A second embodiment of the travel suitcase is totally similar to the first described embodiment and differs in the fact that the terminal portion 191 comprises an elongated body 192 which extends towards the centre of the annular rolling tread 7 and an extreme head 193 which is bigger than the elongated body 192.

As shown in Figure 6, the retention plate 11 comprises a retention recess 194 in which the extreme head 193 can be fitted to measure.

Furthermore, the annular support body 50 comprises at least one slot 195 obtained in the proximity of the retention crest 52 and in which the extreme head 193 can be fitted to measure.

This way, when the plates 11 are tightly sandwiched, the extreme head 193 remains trapped in the space defined by the slot 195 and by the retention recess 194 keeping the sidewalls 9 in a retention relationship against the crest 52.

In the second embodiment shown, the anchorage means 12 comprise at least one projecting appendage 13, which extends from a central portion 111 of each of the retention plates 11, in a single body piece with these.

The projecting appendage 13 has, at the free end, a connection tooth 14 provided with two elastically approachable connection portions 114.

As shown in Figure 6, the connection portions 114 are two branches of the projecting appendage 13, such as to be brought nearer to one another under the effect of a pressure force, and tending to return to their initial position in the absence of a pressure force.

The anchorage means 12, furthermore, comprise at least one seat 53 obtained in the annular support body 50, having a lateral opening 54 crossed by the projecting appendage 13.

The connection tooth 14 is engaged in the seat 53.

In particular, the connection portions 114 are kept close together thanks to the pressure exerted by the walls of the seat 53.

Consequently, the action of the elastic force which tends to move the connection portions 114 away from each other creates favorable conditions for the stabilization of the connection tooth 14 in the seat 53. Each plate 11 comprises a plurality of seats 53 arranged around the center of the plate itself.

Each seat 53 is associated with a respective projecting appendage 13.

In particular, considering two adjacent seats 53, one seat 53 is associated with a projecting appendage 13 of a plate 11, the other seat 53 is associated with a projecting appendage 13 of the other plate 11.

A third embodiment of the travel suitcase is totally similar to the second embodiment described above, and differs in that it comprises a first terminal portion 191a associated with the sidewall 9a and a second terminal portion 191b associated with the other sidewall 9b, and wherein at least one of the first terminal portion 191a and the second terminal portion 191b is without the extreme head 193.

In particular, the second terminal portion 191b is without the extreme head 193. This makes it easier to insert the annular support body 50 during assembly. The elongated body 192 acts as a shoulder for the respective plate 11, making it easier to position.

A fourth embodiment of the travel suitcase, for simplicity not shown in the illustrations, is totally similar to the third embodiment described above, and differs in that it comprises a sidewall 9 without terminal portion 91, 191.

In this case, there is no shoulder for the plate 11.

A fifth embodiment of the travel suitcase, for simplicity not shown in the illustrations, is totally similar to the second, third and fourth embodiments described above, and differs in that a plate 11 forms with the annular support body 50 a single body piece insertable in the annular rolling tread 7.

The present invention also relates to a method for assembling a travel suitcase made according to the characteristics illustrated above, of which reference numerals will be maintained for simplicity of exposure.

Initially, it is envisaged to mount the annular rolling tread 7 peripherally around the annular support body 50, with the retention crest 52 interposed, after assembly, between the internal faces of the two sidewalls 9 of the annular rolling tread 7.

At this point, two bearings 15 are inserted in the through seat 51 of the annular support body 50 starting from the two opposite ends of the through seat 51 itself (i.e. starting from the two faces of the annular support body 50) until each bearing 15 is brought to stop against a respective shoulder 56 of the annular support body 50.

It is therefore possible to mechanically couple each retention plate 11, in particular first one then the other in succession, to the annular support body 50. During this coupling, the peripheral portion 110 of the plate 11 is placed in abutment against the external face 90B of a corresponding sidewall 9 of the annular rolling tread 7, to compress the latter in a retention relationship against the crest 52 of the annular support body 50.

This mechanical coupling provides to insert the projecting appendage 13 (and preferably the at least two projecting appendages 13) of each of the two retention plates 11 into the corresponding seat 53 made in the annular support body 50, until the connection tooth 14 of the projecting appendage 13 engages a in step 55 of the seat 53.

At this point the hub is already assembled and a pin 6 can be forcibly inserted in the holes of the two bearings 15 to fix the pin to their internal ring. Advantageously the pin 6 and the internal ring will be fixed and the external ring of the bearings will rotate and therefore the annular support 50 with it, the annular rolling tread 7 and the two plates 11.

Finally, the wheel 4 thus assembled is mounted on the containment body 2 of the suitcase, by engaging the pin 6 in seats of a fork element integral with the containment body 2 of the suitcase itself.

In a known manner the fork is generally made of a single body piece with a shaped corner piece or a support foot of the containment body 2 and supports the pin which in turn supports the wheel 4 in a revolving manner.

The invention thus conceived achieves therefore the intended objects.