Luggage case with retractable wheels

Claim 1

A luggage case having a front wall, a back wall and a plurality of edge walls, said luggage case comprising: an elongated handle pivotally secured to said back wall of the luggage case about a first axis and pivotally movable through an arc of approximately 180° between a retracted, non-operative position in which said handle is generally parallel to said back wall and an extended, operative position in which said handle is generally parallel to said back wall and disposed at approximately 180° relative to the position of said handle when said handle is in its non-operative position, said handle including a gripping portion near one end and a motion transfer link at its other end on the side of said first axis opposite said gripping portion; an elongated wheel axle extending parallel to said first axis and supporting a pair of wheels, said wheel axle and said wheels being movable between a retracted, non-operative position and an extended, operative position; a pair of guide means comprising an elongated guide slot near each end of said wheel axle for guiding the movement of said wheel axle between its retracted and extended positions; an enlongated recess extending along a portion of said back wall and being generally perpendicular to said wheel axle; and an elongated motion transfer rod located within said elongated recess extending between said motion transfer link and said wheel axle for causing movement of said wheel axle along said elongated guide slots between retracted and extended positions of said wheel axles in response to corresponding movement of said handle between its retracted and extended positions.