Collapsible suitcase, and a method for its use
OwnerBoban Joseinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A collapsible suitcase has a bottom panel, a rear panel, two side panels, and a front panel. The rear panel, side panels, and front panel are connected to the bottom panel by hinges permitting them to be rotated from a folded position against the bottom panel to a deployed position perpendicular to the bottom panel. The side hinges have a clearance sufficiently greater than the clearance of the front hinge to allow the side hinges to lie flat on the front panel when folded, and the rear hinge has a sufficiently greater clearance than that of the side hinges to allow the rear panel to lie flat on the side panels when folded.
Claims23
A collapsible suitcase, comprising:
- a rigid bottom panel having an interior surface, an exterior surface, a rear edge, a front edge, and two side edges;
- a rigid rear panel having an interior surface, an exterior surface, a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge connected to the back edge of the bottom panel by at least one rear hinge allowing the rear panel to be rotated between a folded position in which the interior surface of the rear panel is substantially parallel to the interior surface of the bottom panel and a deployed position in which the interior surface of the rear panel is substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of the bottom panel;
- two side panels, each side panel having an interior surface, an exterior surface, a top edge, a rear edge, a front edge, and a bottom edge connected to one of the two side edges of the bottom panel by at least one side hinge that permits the side panel to rotate between a folded position in which the interior surface of the side panel is substantially parallel to the interior surface of the bottom panel and a deployed position in which the interior surface of the side panel is substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of the bottom panel;
- and
- a front panel, the front panel having an interior surface, an exterior surface, a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge connected to the front edge of the bottom panel by at least one front hinge that permits the front panel to rotate between a folded position in which the interior surface of the front panel is substantially parallel to the interior surface of the bottom panel and a deployed position in which the interior surface of the front panel is substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of the bottom panel;
- wherein the at least one front hinge has a first clearance permitting the interior surface of the first panel to rest on the interior surface of the bottom panel when the first panel is in folded position, each of the at least one side hinges has a second clearance sufficiently larger than the first clearance to allow the interior surface of the side panels, when in folded position, to rest on top of the exterior surface of the front panel when the front panel is in folded position, and the at least one rear hinge has a third clearance sufficiently larger than the second clearance to allow the interior surface of the rear panel, when in folded position, to rest on top of the exterior surfaces of the side panels when the side panels are in folded position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.