Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Handle – handle component – or handle adjunct – Length adjustable pull handle for luggage or luggage cart
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-07
2001-06-19
Mah, Chuck Y. (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Handle, handle component, or handle adjunct
Length adjustable pull handle for luggage or luggage cart
C190S115000, C280S655000, C280S655100, C280S047240, C280S047260, C280S037000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247203
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pop-up mechanism, and more particularly to a pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of wheeled luggage for allowing the handle to be extended and retracted in a pop-up manner by a single hand so as to increase convenience.
2. Description of Related Art
A wheeled luggage case is widely used by travelers at airports to carry personal belongings, which is equipped with wheels and an extendable handle that allows the user to easily and effortlessly carry the luggage case by pulling it on the ground. The extendable handle is normally retracted and locked in the luggage case and can be unlocked to be extended out for the user to pull the wheeled luggage case on the ground.
In most wheeled luggage cases, the extendable handle is usually provided with a pop-up mechanism that allows the handle to be extended out in a pop-up manner when a button is pressed so that the user can use the handle fast and conveniently.
Such pop-up mechanisms are, for example, disclosed in Kazmark, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,615, a Cart and Luggage Handle Assembly with an Actuator and Release Apparatus; Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,990, a Handle Assembly for Suitcase; Lu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,097, a Full Handle for a Truck; Liang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,109, a Collapsible Luggage Trolley, to name a few. These pop-up mechanisms, however, are quite complex in construction such that disassembly of the component parts for maintenance and repair would be difficult and thus it is laborious and time-consuming to carry out. Moreover, since the spring used for the pop-up action will be compressed for each use, it can suffer from elastic fatigue after long time of use and should therefore be replaced frequently. However, since these conventional pop-up mechanisms are quite complex in construction, the replacement of the spring will then involve a laborious work. Both assembly and disassembly are thus laborious and time-consuming to carry out. Therefore, the use of these conventional pop-up mechanisms would involve high the manufacturing and maintenance costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of wheeled luggage, which is simpler in construction than those in the prior art so that the manufacture and maintenance for the pop-up mechanism can be easily carried out and the costs thereof can thus be reduced.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of the present invention, a novel pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of a wheeled luggage case is provided. The pop-up mechanism is provided for use on an extendable handle on a wheeled luggage case for the purpose of locking the extendable handle at a retracted position and allowing a user to extend the extendable handle from the retracted and locked position in a pop-up manner, the extendable handle including a pair of parallelly elongated bars which are extendable from and retracted into a pair of tubes on the luggage case. The pop-up mechanism of the invention includes the following component parts:
a bezel body having a button; a pair of recessed portions each provided on each of said elongated bars; a pair of spring-biased raised portions each provided on an end of the bezel body; at least one fastening device being substantially a rectangular body comprising a through opening for mounting on each of said tubes; and at least one elastic driving device secured by the fastening device on each of said tubes, the elastic driving device being substantially a rectangular body having a cavity for receiving an elastic means and a slidable block seated on the elastic means; wherein the slidable block has a protruded portion having a width corresponding to a width of an elongated slot formed on a side of each said bars for being slidingly received therein such that when the extendable handle is pressed to a retracted position, each spring-biased raised portion is protruded into each corresponding recessed portion of said elongated bars for locking the extendable handle, while the protruded portion is slid downwardly along the slot to thereby compress the elastic means and thus move the slidable block to a lowest position in the elastic driving device; and when each spring-biased raised portion is retracted into the bezel body by pressing the button, the extendable handle is unlocked and pop-up immediately such that the protruded portion is slid upwardly along the slot by the expanding force of the elastic means and thus move the slidable block to a highest position in the elastic driving device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of wheeled luggage, wherein the sliding tube is automatically unlocked and moves downward a predetermined distance when the push button is pressed. Such that the sliding tube is pushed down to the elastic device and locked.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of wheeled luggage, wherein the extension and retraction of the handle can be done by a single hand by pushing the push button so as to increase convenience.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a pop-up mechanism for an extendable handle of wheeled luggage wherein the assembly and disassembly of components of the pop-up mechanism are relatively easy. Further, a reduction in the manufacturing cost and maintenance fee is possible for the pop-up mechanism.
The advantages of the present invention are realized by providing an additional (i.e., second) elastic device in the overlaying section of the sliding tube and the support tube and above the first fastening device for cooperating with the first elastic device and the fastening device as described in the above application for making possible of performing the extention and retraction of the handle by a single hand. The second elastic device comprises a sliding member, a guiding member, a sleeve member, and an elastic member wherein a sliding block of the sliding member is attached to the sliding tube; a U shaped arm disposed within a sliding seat of the sliding member in which the elastic member is put on a bottom pin of the U shaped arm and the bottom pin is inserted through a bottom hole of the sliding seat such that the top of the U shaped arm is attached to the bottom of the sleeve member so as to be secured within the support tube.
As to the operation of second elastic device, the sliding tube is unlocked when the push button is pressed such that the force applied on the elastic member is released. The sliding seat together with the sliding block will move downward a predetermined distance due to the expansion of the elastic member. Accordingly, the sliding tube is slided an identical predetermined distance into the support tube so as to allow the push button left unpressed. As a result, it is possible of sliding the sliding tube into the support tube completely. Thus, the purpose of retracting the handle by a single hand is fulfilled.
It is noted that the assembly of the sliding tube and the support tube and the second elastic device is by means of the sleeve member and thus, the disassembly of the same is simply by means of the detachment of the sleeve member. In brief, it is easy to assemble and disassemble the novel pop-up mechanism.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5526908 (1996-06-01), Wang
patent: 5581846 (1996-12-01), Wang
patent: 5620070 (1997-04-01), Wang
patent: 5628088 (1997-05-01), Chen
patent: 5692266 (1997-12-01), Tsai
patent: 5727898 (1998-03-01), Lu
patent: 5781965 (1998-07-01), Lu
patent: 6141828 (2000-11-01), Kuo
Chaw Khong Technology Co. Ltd.
Dougherty & Troxell
Mah Chuck Y.
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