Luggage case protection device with advertisement carrier

Abstract

A protective device for a suitcase (M), comprising an advertisement carrier made of a sheet of die-cut cellulosic material defining a sector area elongated in the horizontal direction, defining two large faces, a front face (1) and a rear face (11), and two side faces, a right side face (2) and a left side face (21), by means of a vertical fold line (P), and comprising a top cover (3) and a bottom cover (4), both are configured as a single folded flange; wherein the top cover (3) and the bottom cover (4) respectively extend out from the upper central part of the front surface (1) or the rear surface (11) so as to be folded and respectively attached to the top or the bottom of the luggage case (M).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a luggage case protection device, which is particularly suitable for airports, bus stations, railway stations, hotels and other passenger transportation and transit hubs. In addition to its convenience in use and simple manufacture, it also provides a very suitable advertising carrier for the intended use.

[0002] As we all know, when traveling by plane, car or even train, if the volume of the suitcase exceeds a certain limit, it must be stored in the cargo hold or in a storage area separate from the passengers. This makes the suitcase vulnerable to improper handling, resulting in collisions or scratches, or even theft of the items in the suitcase.

[0003] To combat this, there is a well-known wrapping service that wraps the suitcase with a large amount of packaging and transparent plastic film. Therefore, removing the film wastes a lot of time and usually deters any opportunists, while also exposing any tampering, such as the introduction of illegal substances. However, the plastic used is a polluting material. In addition, unpacking the suitcase for the rightful owner is also a tedious task.

[0004] In order to avoid the use of plastic, patent EP2174564A1 describes a device for protecting luggage, which consists of a highly elastic, waterproof and wear-resistant outer cover, which has at least one opening for inserting a luggage equipped with a customizable tamper-proof seal. Due to its elasticity, the size of the outer cover is smaller than the size of the luggage and can be put on the luggage. However, this outer cover is made of polyamide or polyurethane, which are not easy to recycle and are harmful to the environment.

[0005] In addition, patent WO2022074279A1 describes a luggage protection device consisting of a folded cardboard package, characterized in that it is unfolded from a die-cut cardboard, wherein a main, horizontally extending rectangular area is defined, and two larger and smaller faces of the rectangular prism package are determined by vertical folding lines, and a folded rectangular prism is formed by gluing a tongue connected to the side of one of the larger faces to the free smaller face.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to solve the problems existing in the prior art. More specifically, the present invention provides a protective device made of cellulose material, preferably any cardboard or paper of sufficient grammage, for its handling. In addition to protecting the suitcase from bumps or scratches, it can also show any signs of improper handling of the suitcase and can be used as an advertising carrier. In other words, the present invention aims at providing a protective element which, while being used as an advertising carrier, can be used in a conventional manner once placed around the suitcase, leaving the telescopic handle and its wheels in an operational state, and at the same time having an eco-friendly and environmentally friendly structure. These aims are achieved by means of a packaging as described in claim 1. Specific embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0007] In the description and claims, the word "comprise" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical features, additives, components or steps. For those skilled in the art, other objects, advantages and features of the present invention can be seen in part from the invention itself and in part from the practice of the present invention. The embodiments and drawings provided below are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the present invention covers all possible combinations of the specific and preferred embodiments described herein.

[0008] What follows is a very brief description of a series of drawings which facilitate a better understanding of the invention and which relate specifically to one embodiment of the invention which is illustrated as a non-limiting example.

[0009] Figure 1 A first practical implementation of the luggage case protection device and advertising carrier object of the invention is shown. Figure 2 An expanded view of the device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 shows different views (AB) of a luggage compartment protection device according to a second practical implementation of the present invention.

[0010] In two practical embodiments of the invention, the device is configured as a rectangular device, which, in the vertical position, includes a front (1) and a rear (1a) whose area is larger than the left side (2) and the right side (21). That is, the device of the invention is made of a die-cut sheet of cellulose material, preferably paperboard, defining a main, horizontally extending rectangular area, with vertical fold lines defining larger faces, namely the front (1) and the rear (11), and two smaller faces, namely the left side (21) and the right side (2). In this description, the designations "front", "rear", "left" and "right" refer to the orientation of the face when the suitcase (M) is in the use position. That is, the front (1) of the protective device will be located at the front of the suitcase (M), and so on.

[0011] In both practical embodiments, the components are made of cellulose material. The preferred material is cardboard, although any paper having a sufficient grammage to be configured as the above-mentioned protection device can be used. The main advantage of using cellulose material, besides its environmental friendliness and ease of recycling, is that it is an easily printable material, so that the protection device itself is a personalized advertising medium. In addition, the front (1) and rear (11) sides, as well as the left side (21) and right side (2), provide suitable surfaces, for example for stickers with personalized patterns or safety instructions to ensure that the device has not been tampered with.

[0012] exist Figure 1 In the figure, the protective device is shown in a first practical embodiment, i.e. a suitcase is inserted therein, and the interior of the device may contain protective elements such as wrapping paper, bubble film or other elements capable of fixing and protecting the interior of the suitcase.

[0013] This rectangular box or prism-shaped device is closed by means of a lid of a top cover (3) and a bottom cover (4). In the case of the bottom cover (4), weakened areas (4a) are included so that they can be easily opened manually by the user or operator if the suitcase has wheels (R). Although four weakened areas are provided, logically, if the suitcase has only two wheels, only these two areas need to be opened, and not all four. A clear advantage of this structure is precisely its versatility.

[0014] On the other hand, the top cover (3) also includes a weakened area (3a) through which the user or operator can pull out the telescopic handle of the suitcase. If the suitcase does not have such a handle, a second upper weakened area (3b) can be used to pull out the fixed upper handle of the suitcase. Finally, it should be pointed out that the middle area of ​​the side (2, 21) may include a weakened area (2a) to leave a passage for the manual side handle equipped with some suitcases. With this structure, we have designed a protective device that is environmentally friendly, sustainable and easy to manufacture and operate.

[0015] Thanks to the protection device of the invention, an ecological, recyclable and environmentally friendly product can be produced, completely eliminating the need for the use of plastic. Furthermore, it is easier and less time-consuming to handle than plastic packaging or elastic sleeves.

[0016] An additional advantage is that it improves the stability of luggage in the cargo hold because it standardizes the volume of the cargo. For example, in an ideal situation, all luggage cases are protected by the device of the present invention, and the cargo will be distributed completely standardized according to size, such as large luggage cases (over 80 cm high), medium luggage cases (69 to 75 cm high) and small luggage cases (usually 55 cm high).

[0017] Logically, the device of the present invention has the further advantage that any oversized device can be used in smaller sized luggage simply by filling the inside of the protective device with paper to further increase the protection of the interior and make unauthorized tampering more difficult.

[0018] The device offers a higher level of protection against bumps and scratches than devices in the prior art. On the other hand, it provides inviolability, any tampering is immediately revealed. Finally, it provides a surface configured as an advertising carrier.

[0019] However, Figure 1 The first practical implementation shown in involves a higher consumption of material (cardboard) since the weakened area usually has to be discarded. However, in order to reduce material consumption, Figure 2 In a second practical implementation of the invention shown in , the top cover (3) and the bottom cover (4) are modified relative to the first implementation, the weakened areas disappear, but their area is significantly smaller than the area of ​​the larger faces (1, 11) over which they extend.

[0020] Therefore, the top cover (3) is designed as a folding flange, the width of which is smaller than the width of the larger face (1, 11), and extends from the upper middle part of the front face (1), and is folded and attached to the top of the luggage case (M) through a plurality of folding lines (31) perpendicular to the top cover (3). After folding, the top cover (3) is attached to the inner side of the back face (11).

[0021] It should also be noted that the top cover (3) is sized to pass under the upper handle of the luggage case (M) and between the crossbars of the telescopic handle of the luggage case (M).

[0022] Similarly, the bottom cover (4) is designed as a foldable flange, the width of which is smaller than the width of the larger surface (1, 11), and extends from the lower middle part of the rear surface (11), and is folded and attached to the bottom of the luggage case (M) through a plurality of folding lines (41) perpendicular to the bottom cover (4). After folding, the bottom cover (4) is attached to the inner side of the front surface (1), providing two passages and use spaces of suitable size for the wheels (R) of the luggage case (M).

[0023] Furthermore, in this actual implementation, the prism formed by the larger faces (1, 11) and the side faces (2, 21) is not a pure rectangular prism like in the first implementation or other prior art documents, but can be perfectly fitted on the suitcase (M) through a plurality of vertical folding lines (P), so that the prism basically adopts the same external shape as the suitcase (M), thereby reducing the amount of cardboard required for manufacturing.

[0024] The assembly of the prism is completed by attaching a flange or tab (5) to the side of one of the larger faces, in this embodiment, to the front face (1), and gluing it to the left side face (21). Next to this locking tab (5) is a vertical tear line (6) configured to separate the locking tab (5) from the side to which it is glued, so that in order to remove the luggage (M), this tear line must be broken to prove that it has been manipulated.

[0025] Its level of impact and scratch resistance is the same as known prior art devices, in particular the device described in WO2022 / 074279 (A1), but the material consumption (cardboard) is significantly lower. On the other hand, it provides a means of inviolability that immediately proves tampering. Finally, it provides a surface that can be used as an advertising carrier.

Claims

1. A protective device for a suitcase (M) with an advertising carrier, the protective device being configured as a sheet of die-cut cellulose material, the sheet defining a horizontally elongated main portion, defining two main faces, namely a front face (1) and a rear face (11), and two side faces, namely a right side face (2) and a left side face (21), by means of vertical fold lines (P), characterized in that The protective device comprises a top cover (3) and a bottom cover (4), each of which is configured as a single folding flange; and wherein the top cover (3) and the bottom cover (4) extend from the upper central portion of the front face (1) or the rear face (11), respectively, to be folded and located at the top or bottom of the luggage case (M), respectively.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lower cover (4) includes some weakened areas (4a) capable of providing windows for the passage of two or more wheels of the suitcase accommodated therein; and wherein the upper cover (3) also includes a first weakened area (3a) capable of being configured as a window for withdrawing a retractable handle of the suitcase accommodated therein, and a second upper weakened area (3b) capable of being used to withdraw a fixed upper handle of the suitcase accommodated in the device.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the top cover (3) and the bottom cover (4) is smaller than the width of the main surface (1, 11), and the top cover (3) and the bottom cover (4) include a plurality of transverse folding lines (31, 41).

4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, the device being made entirely of cardboard.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the paperboard is decorated.

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