i would like to know who invented , or came up with the idea of
putting wheeles on luggage.

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 29 Jun 2005 19:03 PDT

Hi maranne,

There's a mention of the person that invented rolling luggage in a
biography about someone else:

Biographical Note about Denton Chester Crowl
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/ToMsc200/MsC150.01/MsC150.01.htm
..."He [Crowl] also sold the "Ali Carrier," a set of removable wheels
for suitcases invented by a fellow chautauqua performer, J. Mohammad
Ali, which took "the lug out of luggage..."

If correct, this puts the invention of rolling luggage sometime
between 1914 and 1920.   Wow.

Unfortunately there are no results for J. Ali Mohammad, or Mohammed
+luggage +wheels, and I could not find it at the patent office.

If this is a satisfactory answer, let me know...

~~Cynthia

Search terms used at Google:
invented "wheels on luggage" OR "luggage wheels"

---

Clarification of Question by maranne153-ga on 30 Jun 2005 18:38 PDT

THANKS FOR THE ANSWER, IT WAS JUST WHAT I NEEDED.
     MARGARET

Hi maranne,

Thanks for accepting my research as your official answer.  Here is all
my compiled research from the clarification request and comments:

There's a mention of the person that invented rolling luggage in a
biography about someone else:

Biographical Note about Denton Chester Crowl
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/ToMsc200/MsC150.01/MsC150.01.htm
..."He [Crowl] also sold the "Ali Carrier," a set of removable wheels
for suitcases invented by a fellow chautauqua performer, J. Mohammad
Ali, which took "the lug out of luggage..."

If correct, this puts the invention of rolling luggage sometime
between 1914 and 1920.   Wow.

Unfortunately there are no results for J. Ali Mohammad, or Mohammed
+luggage +wheels, and I could not find it at the patent office.

I checked the US Patent Office and could not find a reference earlier
than this one in 1974:


United States Patent Office - 1974 patent for " Mobile luggage case"
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1659&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=wheels&s2=luggage&co1=AND&p=34&OS=wheels+AND+luggage&RS=wheels+AND+luggage

DESCRIPTION:

..."The luggage case has a pair of wheels located at a lower back edge
such that when the case rests on a flat surface, the wheels are held
spaced from the floor surface. On lifting the case side opposite that
including the wheels, the wheels are brought into rolling contact with
the floor. A handle assembly is foldably received into the side wall
opposite that including the wheels and can be selectively folded
outwardly into a position for pulling or pushing, or, when not in use,
folded into a receiving recess formed in the case side wall. A
spring-loaded latch mechanism secures the handle within the recess
during nonuse, and a finger release enables selective extension of the
handle outwardly from the case wall for easy access when it is desired
to move the case..."

Inventors: 	 Gregg; James S. (Denver, CO); Miller; Robert W. (Watkins,
CO); Mobley; Lawrence R. (Parker, CO); Scott; Charles J. (Denver, CO);
Woodburn; Joseph A. (Denver, CO)

Assignee: 	Samsonite Corporation (Denver, CO)
Appl. No.: 	533337
Filed: 	December 16, 1974


Since I found the reference to J. Mohammed Ali inventing wheeled
luggage as early as --sometime between 1914 and 1920, I cannot be
certain of the actual inventor. There's a lot of time between 1920 and
1974...


US Patent Search Page:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/search-bool.html


~~Cynthia

Search terms used at Google:
invented "wheels on luggage" OR "luggage wheels"

Hi maranne,

according to The Travel Insider, the wheeled carry-on bag was invented
in 1989 by a pilot named Bob Plath:
http://www.thetravelinsider.info/travelaccessories/carryonluggagereviews.htm

He later founded a company, TravelPro, that manufactures carry-on luggage:
http://www.travelpro.com/

It is also mentioned in an article from NSMBC, The quest for the perfect suitcase:
"As a matter of fact, TravelPro was founded by a former Northwest
Airline pilot who invented upright, soft-sided rolling luggage"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5867643/

Thanks,

Uko

Google search terms:
wheels luggage invented or wheels baggage invented

You could also find the answer by searching in Google Answers, e.g.
luggage invented:
Travelpro, a Northwest Airlines pilot named Bob Plath, invented the wheeled ...

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=523515

There's a patent for wheeled luggage much earlier than 1989, ...heck,
I USED wheeled luggage on my honeymoon in 1978!

I checked the US Patent Office and could not find a reference earlier
than this one in 1974:


United States Patent Office - 1974 patent for " Mobile luggage case"
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1659&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=wheels&s2=luggage&co1=AND&p=34&OS=wheels+AND+luggage&RS=wheels+AND+luggage

DESCRIPTION:

..."The luggage case has a pair of wheels located at a lower back edge
such that when the case rests on a flat surface, the wheels are held
spaced from the floor surface. On lifting the case side opposite that
including the wheels, the wheels are brought into rolling contact with
the floor. A handle assembly is foldably received into the side wall
opposite that including the wheels and can be selectively folded
outwardly into a position for pulling or pushing, or, when not in use,
folded into a receiving recess formed in the case side wall. A
spring-loaded latch mechanism secures the handle within the recess
during nonuse, and a finger release enables selective extension of the
handle outwardly from the case wall for easy access when it is desired
to move the case..."

Inventors: 	 Gregg; James S. (Denver, CO); Miller; Robert W. (Watkins,
CO); Mobley; Lawrence R. (Parker, CO); Scott; Charles J. (Denver, CO);
Woodburn; Joseph A. (Denver, CO)

Assignee: 	Samsonite Corporation (Denver, CO)
Appl. No.: 	533337
Filed: 	December 16, 1974


That sure sounds like wheeled luggage to me.


Since I found the reference to J. Mohammed Ali inventing wheeled
luggage as early as --sometime between 1914 and 1920, I cannot be
certain of the actual inventor. There's a lot of time between 1920 and
1974...


US Patent Search Page, if anyone would like to look, ...please, feel free:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/search-bool.html

~~Cynthia