Hand carryable travel container convertable to rollable cart

Claim 2

A generally rectangular hand-carryable container comprising a pair of wide walls edgewise-connected by narrow encircling walls collectively defining a storage enclosure, the container having handle means for manually carrying the same when the wide walls are disposed in upright position, manual guidance and tow means carried in juxtaposition with an inner face of one wide wall and extensible and retractable lengthwise from a first transverse end thereof, extensible and retractable roller means located adjacent an opposite transverse end of said wide wall, and operating means connecting the roller means with said guidance and tow means and responsive to extension and retraction of the tow means for shifting the roller means between a position of non-projection from the container and an extended, functional, ground-support position for the container wherein the container may support objects placed upon the second wide wall when disposed in transverse position and the whole rollingly pushed or pulled by the extended manual guidance and tow means, said operating means comprising at least one elongated, parallel-faced, rigid ribbon pivotally carried adjacent said one wide wall and rotatable along its longitudinal axis to form a helical slide track, one end of which track is connected to said roller means in position for shifting it between non-projecting and extended positions upon rotation of the ribbon, said operating means including means connected to said guidance and tow means for at least partially rotating said ribbon and comprising a bifurcate, transverse engagement member disposed for movement lengthwise along the ribbon in sliding engagement with said parallel faces, in response to extension and retraction of said guidance and tow means.

Claim 3

A container according to claim 1 wherein said operating means comprises a pair of said twisted, rotatable ribbons disposed mutually parallel, each of which is slidingly engagable by a bifurcate end of the transverse engagement member for sliding movement along the pair of ribbons, in response to extension and retraction of the guidance and tow means.

Claim 4

A pallet assembly adapted to support in juxtaposition with one face thereof, an object such as a container for holding travelling effects, and having adjacent an opposite face anti-friction elements which are selectively projectable and retractable, whereby such object may be moved about with the aid of said elements when in projected position and alternately slid upon said opposite face when the elements are retracted, said assembly comprising in combination: an elongated, generally planar pallet having obverse and reverse faces, the reverse face having associated means for supportive attachment to a weight-bearing object such as a travel container, anti-friction elements comprising a pair of laterally separated rollers pivotally carried by the pallet and jointly movable between a functional position of outward projection from the obverse face and a non-functional position of retraction therefrom, and operating means for projecting and retracting both of said rollers in unison, said means comprising a pair of elongated, parallel-faced, rigid ribbons, each shaped with its length progressively helically twisted approximately a quarter turn, each ribbon carrying one of said rollers adjacent an end of the twisted length and each ribbon secured lengthwise to said pallet by longitudinally aligned bearing means adjacent each end of its twisted length, which lengths are laterally spaced apart and disposed generally parallel to each other and thus adapted by partial rotation on a longitudinal axis to effect projection and retraction of the carried rollers, and shift means for effecting projection and retraction of said rollers including a transverse yoke each end being bifurcate having a pair of ribbon-embracing surfaces each pair disposed in sliding registration with a twisted length of a different one of said ribbons and adapted by its movement lengthwise along said pair of twisted ribbons to rotate the latter in unison and thereby project and retract the rollers carried by such ribbons.

Claim 5

A pallet assembly adapted to support in juxtaposition with one face thereof, an object such as a container for holding travelling effects, and having adjacent an opposite face anti-friction elements which are selectively projectable and retractable, whereby such object may be moved about with the aid of said elements when in projected position and alternately slid upon said opposite face when the elements are retracted, said assembly comprising in combination: an elongated, generally planar pallet having obverse and reverse faces, the reverse face having associated means for supportive attachment to a weight-bearing object such as a travel container, anti-friction elements comprising a pair of laterally separated rollers pivotally carried by the pallet and jointly movable between a functional position of outward projection from the obverse face and a non-functional position of retraction therefrom, and operating means for projecting and retracting both of said rollers in unison, said means comprising a pair of elongated, parallel-faced, rigid ribbons, each shaped with its length progressively helically twisted approximately a quarter turn, each ribbon carrying one of said rollers adjacent an end of the twisted length and each ribbon secured lengthwise to said pallet by longitudinally aligned bearing means adjacent each end of its twisted length, which lengths are laterally spaced apart and disposed generally parallel to each other and thus adapted by partial rotation on a longitudinal axis to effect projection and retraction of the carried rollers, and shift means for effecting projection and retraction of said rollers including a transverse yoke each end being bifurcate having a pair of ribbon-embracing surfaces each pair disposed in sliding registration with a twisted length of a different one of said ribbons and adapted by its movement lengthwise along said pair of twisted ribbons to rotate the latter in unison and thereby project and retract the rollers carried by such ribbons.

Claim 6

A hand-carryable travel container which fixedly contains the pallet assembly of claim 3, said container being formed by top, bottom and connecting side walls jointly forming a storage enclosure wherein said pallet is spaced from the bottom wall to define an operating chamber containing the pallet-carried rollers, end-mounted twisted ribbons and transverse yoke, a wall of the container providing openings adjacent an end of the operating chamber for projection and retraction of said rollers, said shift means including a tow member disposed longitudinally reciprocable within and extensible from said operating chamber and connected to the transverse yoke for operative movement of the latter lengthwise along the twisted ribbons whereby the rollers may be shifted between a chamber-housed position and a projected ground-support position, in which latter position the container may be pushed or pulled by means of the projecting tow member.

Claim 7

A pallet assembly according to claim 3 which is fixedly retained within a thin, elongated, planar-faced housing of which the obverse face of the pallet forms an external face thereof, said housing having handle means adjacent a towing end thereof, a transverse container-abutment ledge located along the opposite end extending outward from the reverse face thereof, and having wrap-around strap means extending from a longitudinal edge of the housing and adapted for overlying and fastening against the obverse housing face an article disposed in edge abutment with said ledge.

Claim 8

A pallet assembly according to claim 5 wherein said container-abutment ledge is extensibly disposed in a transverse housing sheath.