US 12,342,914 B2
Luggage article split along front and rear major faces
Wim De Vos, Zingem (BE); Erik Sijmons, Oudenaarde (BE); Jurgen Oskamp, Mechelen (BE); Ward Vancoppenolle, Mechelen (BE); Lukas Van Campenhout, Mechelen (BE); Reinhard Meersschaert, Merelbeke (BE); and Ward Adriaenssens, Mechelen (BE)
Assigned to Samsonite IP Holdings S.a r.l., Luxembourg (LU)
Filed by Samsonite IP Holdings S.a r.l., Luxembourg (LU)
Filed on Jun. 14, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/209,614.
Application 18/209,614 is a continuation of application No. 17/251,893, granted, now 11,712,094, previously published as PCT/EP2018/065713, filed on Jun. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0337796 A1, Oct. 26, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A45C 5/03 (2006.01); A45C 5/14 (2006.01); A45C 13/00 (2006.01); A45C 13/02 (2006.01); A45C 13/26 (2006.01)
CPC A45C 5/03 (2013.01) [A45C 5/14 (2013.01); A45C 13/005 (2013.01); A45C 13/02 (2013.01); A45C 13/262 (2013.01); A45C 2005/037 (2013.01); A45C 2013/267 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A luggage article comprising:
a housing defined by first and second shell portions pivotably connected together at a split line;
the housing defining a front major face, a rear major face, and a plurality of minor faces extending between the front and rear major faces, wherein the front and rear major faces have a width dimension greater than each of the plurality of minor faces;
a hinge having a pivot axis and pivotably connecting the first and second shell portions together along a portion of the split line, wherein the hinge is defined on the rear major face of the housing; and
a retractable tow handle connected to the rear major face of the housing, the tow handle comprising one or more extensible tubes or poles and a grip portion connected to a distal end of each of the one or more extensible tubes or poles,
wherein:
the tow handle is integrated into the hinge such that the tow handle extends along at least a part of the pivot axis, and
the split line extending along the front and rear major faces of the housing, and
the split line is a central vertical split line.