US Patent 8695770 Luggage having bottom frame member

Generally, embodiments discussed herein may include an article of softside luggage including flexible portions formed from flexible material and a rigid or semi-rigid reinforcing member. One embodiment may take the form of a wheeled duffel including a base wall, a top wall opposite the base wall, a plurality of sidewalls extending upwardly from the base wall to the top wall, a top end wall, and a bottom end wall opposite the top end wall. The wheeled duffel may further include a reinforcing member forming the top and bottom end walls and extending along the base wall from the top end wall to the bottom end wall. The reinforcing member may have an hourglass shape.