Unitized telescopic-leg assembly

Details Unitized telescopic-leg assembly Unitized telescopic-leg assembly

1992-02-10

1993-09-07

Foss, J. Franklin

Supports: cabinet structure

With carrying handle

248461, A47B 9502

Patent

active

052422186

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention pertains to the general field of hand carried cases such as briefcases, camera cases and the like and more particularly to cases incorporating a telescopic-leg assembly that allows the case to be propped upright in either an opened or closed configuration.


BACKGROUND ART

Conventional hand carried cases such as briefcases, camera cases, equipment cases and other utility cases are primarily designed to facilitate the storage and transporting of documents, supplies and other implements. In many situations, such as when in transit or when making presentations, a suitable table or structure, in which to place an open case, is not available. In these situations, the case must be placed on the floor or some other surface that is not conducive to protect the case from abrasions or contamination from floor debris. Additionally, when the case is placed on a low surface, the retrieval of the case contents is in many instances difficult and at best is cumbersome.
There have been attempts in the prior art to increase the utility of a case by incorporating into the case design, a set of foldable or telescoping legs. The foldable leg designs, aside from being bulky and unwieldy, greatly reduce the case's aesthetic appearance. The telescoping leg designs are complex in that several external and internal components are required for their operation. Additionally, the internal components reduce the carrying capacity of the case and several modifications must be made to the case structure to install and operate the prior art designs.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:


______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,790,416 Baker 13 December 1988 4,412,604 Bell, et al 1 November 1983 4,034,518 Trecker 12 July 1977 2,522,322 Wallace 12 September 1950 837,855 Goldin 17 December 1907 ______________________________________
The Baker patent, which is assigned to the applicants of the instant application, discloses a rigid carrying case, such as a briefcase, that includes a removable flat writing top that is attached when the case is opened. The invention also includes a set of four legs that when not in use, are stored within respective leg housings located within its case. Each leg is individually released from its housing by depressing a corresponding release button protruding outside the case. When the four legs have been extended, the case, while being held above a supporting surface, is opened allowing each pair of legs to cross. The crossed legs then support and allow the case to be propped upright in an open position.
The Bell patent discloses a combination luggage case and stand with an extension. The case has an openable top with a hinged cover and foldable legs. This folding structure includes a fork shaped support used as a table, and a second position raising the nose to be horizontal, forming an extension table.


ANALYSIS OF BAKER PATENT

An analysis of the BAKER patent and a prototype briefcase incorporating the telescopic legs of the BAKER patent disclosed the following:
1. Two separate telescopic leg assemblies are required. Therefore, both sides of the briefcase must be modified to install the two assemblies.
2. A total of 48 separate components are required for each briefcase which affects the briefcase reliability and increases assembly time.
3. A total of eight bores must be drilled in the briefcase. Each side requires two bores for the leg housings and two bores for the leg release buttons.
4. A total of four leg release buttons and release mechanisms are required. This many buttons makes it cumbersome to hold the briefcase while the buttons are being depressed to release the legs.
5. The attachment and adjustment of the four leg release mechanisms requires close manufacturing tolerances which adversely affect the manufacturing assembly rate.
6. After the leg

REFERENCES:
patent: 1081221 (1913-12-01), Durkin
patent: 1449023 (1923-03-01), Wardle
patent: 2324439 (1943-07-01), Thommen
patent: 2425196 (1947-08-01), Lopes
patent: 2759576 (1956-08-01), Towsend
patent: 3309049 (1967-03-01), Albee
patent: 4034518 (1977-07-01), Trecker
patent: 4244632 (1981-01-01), Molinari
patent: 4412604 (1983-11-01), Bell
patent: 4790416 (1988-12-01), Baker
patent: 4854652 (1989-08-01), Ahmann
patent: 4856627 (1989-08-01), Polatov

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