Luggage with power bank pocket

Abstract

A luggage article may include front and rear hard shells that define a packing compartment. An expansion material may extend between the hard shells when the luggage article is closed. A pocket may be attached to the expansion material and include a pocket opening through the expansion material. The pocket may be dimensioned to hold a power bank. A port may be provided along an exterior side of the luggage article to electrically couple the power bank within the pocket with an electrical device outside of the luggage article.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A luggage article comprising:
 a packing compartment defined by front and rear hard shells, each of the front and rear hard shells including a rim;   a closure mechanism operable to selectively transition the luggage article between open and closed configurations, wherein in the closed configuration the closure mechanism couples the rims of the front and rear hard shells to enclose the packing compartment;   an expansion material extending between the rims of the front and rear hard shells when the luggage article is in the closed configuration;   a pocket opening extending through the expansion material;   a pocket attached to the expansion material and having an interior space accessible through the pocket opening and dimensioned to contain a power bank;   an expansion closure mechanism operable to selectively increase or decrease a distance between the rims of the front and rear hard shells when the luggage article is in the closed configuration thereby transitioning the expansion material between expanded and contracted configurations, wherein, when the expansion material is in the contracted configuration, the pocket opening is covered by the expansion closure mechanism, and wherein, when the expansion material is in the expanded configuration, the pocket opening is located and accessible along an exterior side of the luggage article;   a port configured to electrically couple between a power bank contained within the pocket and an electronic device to receive a supply of power from the power bank, wherein the port is accessible from the exterior side of the luggage article when the luggage article is in the closed configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The luggage article of  claim 1 , wherein the pocket hangs from the expansion material. 
     
     
         3 . The luggage article of  claim 2 , wherein the pocket is positioned within the packing compartment when the luggage article is in the closed configuration. 
     
     
         4 . The luggage article of  claim 3 , wherein the port is located within a housing positioned along an exterior side of the front or rear hard shell. 
     
     
         5 . The luggage article of  claim 4 , wherein the pocket includes a stowing mechanism comprising selectively mateable attachment structures positioned on the pocket and an adjacent interior lining of the packing compartment to securely stow the pocket along the adjacent interior lining. 
     
     
         6 . A luggage article comprising:
 a packing compartment defined by front and rear hard shells, each of the front and rear hard shells including a rim;   a closure mechanism operable to selectively transition the luggage article between open and closed configurations, wherein in the closed configuration the closure mechanism couples the rims of the front and rear hard shells to enclose the packing compartment;   an expansion material extending between the rims of the front and rear hard shells when the luggage article is in the closed configuration;   a pocket opening extending through the expansion material;   a pocket attached to the expansion material and having an interior space accessible through the pocket opening dimensioned to contain a power bank; and   a port configured to electrically couple between a power bank contained within the pocket and an electronic device to receive a supply of power from the power bank.   
     
     
         7 . The luggage article of  claim 1 , wherein the port is accessible from an exterior side of the luggage article when the luggage article is in a closed configuration. 
     
     
         8 . The luggage article of  claim 7 , wherein the port is positioned within a housing located along the exterior side of the front or rear hard shell. 
     
     
         9 . The luggage article of  claim 8 , wherein the housing includes a cover that is selectively movable to cover and reveal the port. 
     
     
         10 . The luggage article of  claim 7 , wherein the port comprises a universal serial bus (USB) port. 
     
     
         11 . The luggage article of  claim 6 , further comprising an expansion closure mechanism operable to selectively increase or decrease a distance between first and second ends of the expansion material to transition the luggage article between expanded and contracted configurations. 
     
     
         12 . The luggage article of  claim 11 , wherein, when the luggage article is in the contracted configuration, the pocket opening is covered by the expansion closure mechanism, and wherein, when the luggage article is in the expanded configuration, the pocket opening is located and accessible along the exterior of the luggage article. 
     
     
         13 . The luggage article of  claim 6 , further comprising an expansion closure mechanism operable to selectively increase or decrease a distance between the rims of the front and rear hard shells to increase or decrease an available volume within the packing compartment, thereby transitioning the expansion material between expanded and contracted configurations. 
     
     
         14 . The luggage article of  claim 13 , wherein, when the expansion material is in the contracted configuration, the pocket opening is covered by the expansion closure mechanism, and wherein, when the expansion material is in the expanded configuration, the pocket opening is located and accessible along the exterior of the luggage article. 
     
     
         15 . The luggage article of  claim 6 , wherein the pocket hangs from the expansion material. 
     
     
         16 . The luggage article of  claim 15 , wherein the pocket is positioned within the packing compartment when the luggage article is in the closed configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The luggage article of  claim 16 , wherein the pocket includes a stowing mechanism comprising selectively mateable attachment structures positioned on the pocket and an adjacent interior lining of the luggage compartment to securely stow the pocket along the adjacent interior lining. 
     
     
         18 . The luggage article of  claim 18 , further comprising wiring extending between the pocket and the port, and wherein a hole extends through the pocket through which the wiring extends into the pocket. 
     
     
         19 . The luggage article of  claim 18 , wherein the wiring comprises a first end connected to the port, wherein the wiring extends from the port, through the packing compartment, to a second end that positions within the pocket and that is configured for connection with a power bank when contained within the pocket. 
     
     
         20 . The luggage article of  claim 19 , wherein the packing compartment is lined with an interior lining, wherein a hole extends through the lining, and wherein the wiring extends through the hole in the interior lining.