Rolling Tote Bag
Patent No. US12053071 (titled "Rolling Tote Bag") was filed by Codefine International Sa on Jan 22, 2024.
What is this patent about?
’071 is related to the field of rolling tote bags, specifically those designed for shopping, groceries, or laundry. Existing rolling tote bags often suffer from limitations such as sagging bottom corners, potential for dust and debris to enter the storage volume through wheel apertures, and complex or unreliable attachment mechanisms for the rolling support assembly. These shortcomings can lead to wear and tear, hygiene issues, and potential separation of the bag from its rolling base.
The underlying idea behind ’071 is to provide a more robust and practical rolling tote bag by securing the rolling support assembly externally , underneath the bag's bottom panel, rather than inside the storage volume. This is achieved using a retaining structure made of fabric panels that securely hold the support plate and caster wheels against the underside of the bag. This external mounting eliminates the need for wheel apertures in the bottom panel, preventing dust ingress and structural weaknesses.
The claims of ’071 focus on a rolling tote bag with a collapsible fabric container and a rolling support assembly. The key feature is a retaining structure beneath the bottom panel that holds the support plate externally. This structure can take different forms, including overlapping releasable flaps with fastening elements (e.g., hook-and-loop fasteners) or a retaining envelope secured by a zipper. The claims also cover specific features like gusset folds for compact folding and bubble wrap reinforcement in the side panels.
In practice, the rolling support assembly, consisting of a support plate and caster wheels, is attached to the underside of the tote bag using the retaining structure. For example, multiple flaps, strategically positioned around the bottom panel, wrap around the support plate and are secured using hook-and-loop fasteners. This creates a secure and easily detachable connection. The flaps may have apertures or be spaced to accommodate the caster wheels, ensuring smooth rolling.
This design differentiates itself from prior art by avoiding internal mounting of the rolling support, which requires apertures in the bag's bottom and reduces storage space. Unlike some prior solutions, the retaining structure provides support across the entire bottom surface, preventing sagging. The use of releasable flaps or a zippered envelope allows for easy removal and replacement of the rolling support, while ensuring a secure connection during use, addressing the limitations of snap fastener-based systems.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2020s when ’071 was filed, rolling tote bags were commonly constructed with collapsible container bodies and removable rolling support assemblies, at a time when attaching the support assembly to the container body often involved fasteners or internal securing flaps. When hardware or software constraints made robust and cost-effective attachment mechanisms non-trivial, designs often compromised between ease of use, structural integrity, and manufacturing costs.
Novelty and Inventive Step
Claims were amended during prosecution. Claims 1, 5-12, and 15 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA) as being indefinite. Claims 13, 14, and 16-24 were allowed, and claims 2-4 were canceled. The Office action was made final. The prosecution record does describe the technical reasoning and specific claim changes that led to allowance.
Claims
This patent contains 21 claims, with independent claims 1, 10, 13, and 14. The independent claims are directed to a rolling tote bag with a collapsible container body and a rolling support assembly, focusing on different retaining structures for the support plate and folding configurations. The dependent claims generally add specific details and features to the rolling tote bag described in the independent claims.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
Patent Family
File Wrapper
The dossier documents provide a comprehensive record of the patent's prosecution history - including filings, correspondence, and decisions made by patent offices - and are crucial for understanding the patent's legal journey and any challenges it may have faced during examination.
Date
Description
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US12053071
- Application Number
- US18419002
- Filing Date
- Jan 22, 2024
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Jan 22, 2044
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents