Luggage transportation system

Abstract

Provided is a luggage piece that can be coupled to a second luggage piece to be transported together as a joined unit, and a luggage system including such luggage pieces. The luggage piece includes a housing for storing items to be transported therein, and a retractable handle provided to the housing. A plurality of rollers coupled to the housing allow the luggage piece to be rolled, and include at least two in-line rollers having a generally-fixed rolling direction. The second luggage piece includes two or more adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction. A plurality of tethers couple the luggage piece and the second luggage piece together to form a joined unit that can be steered through adjustment of the rolling direction of the adjustable rollers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A luggage piece that can be coupled to a second luggage piece to be transported with the second luggage piece as a joined unit, the second luggage piece comprising a plurality of adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction, the luggage piece comprising:
 a housing defining an interior compartment that stores items to be transported within the luggage piece;   a retractable handle that is adjustable between a recessed position where a handgrip provided to the handle is disposed proximate to the housing and a deployed position where the handgrip is extended distally away from the housing;   a plurality of rollers coupled to the housing on which the luggage piece is to be rolled, the plurality of rollers comprising at least two in-line rollers having a generally fixed rolling direction; and   a coupling system comprising a plurality of tethers that cooperate with one or more receivers provided to the second luggage piece to couple the second luggage piece to the luggage piece at a position that allows the joined unit to roll on the in-line rollers and the adjustable rollers, wherein the adjustable rollers provided to the second luggage piece afford the joined unit a steering capability.   
     
     
         2 . The luggage piece of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of additional adjustable rollers coupled to the housing, wherein the luggage piece rolls on the in-line rollers and the additional adjustable rollers when separated from the second luggage piece. 
     
     
         3 . The luggage piece of  claim 2 , wherein the additional adjustable rollers are arranged along a portion of a periphery of the housing that is positioned adjacent to the second luggage piece when the luggage piece is coupled to the second luggage piece. 
     
     
         4 . A luggage system comprising:
 a first luggage piece comprising:
 a housing defining an interior compartment that stores items to be transported within the first luggage piece, 
 a retractable handle that is adjustable between a recessed position where a handgrip provided to the handle is disposed proximate to the housing and a deployed position where the handgrip is extended distally away from the housing, and 
 a plurality of rollers coupled to the housing on which the luggage piece is to be rolled, the plurality of rollers comprising at least two in-line rollers having a generally fixed rolling direction; 
   a second luggage piece comprising:
 a housing defining an interior compartment that stores items to be transported within the second luggage piece, 
 a retractable handle that is adjustable between a recessed position where a handgrip provided to the handle is disposed proximate to the housing and a deployed position where the handgrip is extended distally away from the housing, and 
 a plurality of rollers coupled to the housing on which the second luggage piece is to be rolled, the plurality of rollers comprising at least two adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction; and 
   a coupling system comprising a plurality of tethers that couple the first and second luggage pieces together to be rolled on the at least two in-line rollers and the at least two adjustable rollers together as a joined unit, wherein the joined unit is steerable through adjustment of the variable rolling direction of the adjustable rollers.   
     
     
         5 . The luggage system of  claim 4  further comprising a third luggage piece that the tethers couple between the first luggage piece and the second luggage piece as part of the joined unit. 
     
     
         6 . The luggage system of  claim 5 , wherein the first luggage piece, the second luggage piece and the third luggage piece comprise approximately the same internal storage volume. 
     
     
         7 . The luggage system of  claim 5 , wherein the third luggage piece comprises a plurality of adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction. 
     
     
         8 . The luggage system of  claim 7 , wherein the third luggage piece comprises a retractable handle that is adjustable between a retracted position and an extended position,
 wherein the handle provided to the third luggage piece comprises a single frame member.   
     
     
         9 . The luggage system of  claim 4 , wherein the retractable handle provided to the second luggage piece comprises a retractable belt that is stored about a spool and a handgrip provided adjacent to a distal end of the belt. 
     
     
         10 . The luggage system of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of rollers coupled to the housing of the first luggage piece further comprises a plurality of adjustable rollers that are coupled to the housing of the first luggage piece adjacent to a panel of the housing of the first luggage piece that opposes a panel of the housing of the second luggage piece when the first and second luggage pieces are coupled together to form the joined unit. 
     
     
         11 . The luggage system of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of tethers comprises a permanent tether that is affixed to the first luggage piece or the second luggage piece in a non-releasable manner that prevents removal of the permanent tether without damaging the first luggage piece, the second luggage piece or the permanent tether. 
     
     
         12 . The luggage system of  claim 11 , wherein the permanent tether is affixed to the first luggage piece or the second luggage piece by at least one of stitching and an adhesive. 
     
     
         13 . The luggage system of  claim 11 , wherein a connector portion of the permanent tether is secured to a portion of the housing of the first luggage piece or the second luggage piece to which the permanent tether is affixed when the permanent tether is not coupling the first and second luggage pieces together. 
     
     
         14 . A luggage system comprising:
 a first luggage piece comprising:
 a housing defining an interior compartment for storing items to be transported within the first luggage piece, 
 a retractable handle that is adjustable between a recessed position where a handgrip provided to the handle is disposed proximate to the housing and a deployed position where the handgrip is extended distally away from the housing of the first luggage piece, and 
 a plurality of rollers coupled to the housing on which the luggage piece is to be rolled, the plurality of rollers comprising at least two in-line rollers having a generally fixed rolling direction and at least two adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction, wherein the in-line rollers extend from a bottom surface of the first luggage piece adjacent to a vertical plane in which the retractable handle of the first luggage piece is located and the adjustable rollers extend from a bottom surface of the first luggage piece adjacent to a side of the bottom surface opposite the in-line rollers; 
   a second luggage piece comprising:
 a housing defining an interior compartment for storing items to be transported within the second luggage piece, 
 a retractable belt that is stored about a spool coupled to the housing of the second luggage piece and comprises a handgrip provided adjacent to a distal end of the retractable belt, wherein the retractable belt is adjustable between a recessed position where the handgrip is disposed proximate to the housing of the second luggage piece and a deployed position where the handgrip is extended distally away from the housing of the second luggage piece, and 
 a plurality of adjustable rollers having a variable rolling direction extending from a bottom surface of the second luggage piece on which the second luggage piece is to be rolled, wherein the bottom surface of the second luggage piece is devoid of any in-line rollers; and 
   a coupling system comprising a plurality of tethers that extend between the first and second luggage pieces to couple the first and second luggage pieces together to be rolled on the in-line rollers and the adjustable rollers together as a joined unit, wherein a proximate portion of the joined unit adjacent to the in-line rollers has a tendency to roll in a fixed direction established by the in-line rollers and a distal portion of the joined unit adjacent to the adjustable rollers of the second luggage piece is steerable in a plurality of different directions through adjustment of the variable rolling direction of the adjustable rollers without skidding the adjustable rollers.