Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Handle – handle component – or handle adjunct – Luggage-type
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-31
2001-01-09
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Handle, handle component, or handle adjunct
Luggage-type
C016S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170122
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a push button device for releasing a locking mechanism and more particularly, relates to a push button device that is particularly suitable for releasing a locked, retractable handle system used on a wheeled luggage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wheeled luggage has been popularly used in recent years by travelers in either airplane or any other forms of traveling. In the development of a wheeled luggage, several important and desirable characteristics must be satisfied. First, the luggage needs to be rigidly constructed and to have sufficient rigidity to survive rough handling on the streets, in and out of buildings having ascending or descending steps, and in and out of various forms of carriers such as a motor vehicle, a train or an airplane. Secondly, the wheeled luggage should have adequate wheel means such that a traveler can pull a luggage along on a pavement or other surfaces with relative ease. Thirdly, the wheeled luggage should have a convenient handle system such that it can be stowed securely when not in use.
Wheeled luggage available in the market today do not have reliable means for locking or unlocking a handle system. This creates problems when the luggage is being shipped and handled, for instance, at an airport. When the luggage is positioned sideways or in an upside-down position, the gravity of the handle may extend the handle such that various problems can occur such as damages caused to an automated luggage conveyor system. Efforts have been made by others to remedy the problems. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,908, a retractable handle assembly which can be easily expanded and folded without exerting a large force thereon. The retractable handle assembly includes a hollow bracket mounted on a top plate of one of the half bodies thereof, a pair of lug portions each formed on one of the distal end portions of the bracket and each having a first bore laterally defined therein, a pair of outer tubes each securely mounted between the lug portion and a bottom plate of the half body and each having a second bore laterally defined therein for aligning with the first bore, the pair of inner tubes each is slidably mounted in one of the outer tubes and each having a third bore laterally defined therein for aligning with the second bore, a substantially U-shaped handle portion mounted on the bracket and having two free end portions each engaged with the upper end of a corresponding one of the inner tubes, a pressing member movably mounted in a hollow bracket and including a knob extending through an opening of the hollow bracket, a biasing member mounted on an underside of the present member and including a pair of stubs each respectively extending through the first bore of associated lug portion, the second bore of associated outer tube and the third bore of associated inner tube.
In another issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,426, a handle device is disclosed which includes a pair of storage tubes adapted to be mounted on a rear face of a wheeled suitcase, a seat frame, a handle member and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is provided in the receiving space of the seat frame and includes two projecting members, a biasing unit between the projecting members for biasing the projection members toward the storage tubes and for locking the handle member relative to the storage tubes when the two engaging holes are in alignment, and a retracting unit for retracting the projecting members to release the handle member relative to the storage tubes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,428 discloses a carrying case assembly that is equipped with a collapsible handle assembly disposed within the case, the handle assembly includes a push button which allows the handle to collapse within the case. The handle assembly further includes a lock means for holding the first handle portion in an extended position relative to the second handle portion, the handle lock means includes a selectably releasable handle-locking protrusions on one of the first and second handle portions, movable in opposing directions toward and away from the other of the first and second handle portions into and out of engagement therewith. In still another issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,876 a pull handle for a trunk is disclosed which includes a pair of driving rods each having a wedge member disposed at the bottom end thereof and is in abutment with a spring biased locking seat having an oblique cam surface. Each driving rod is housed in a hollow tube and the locking seat is in selective engagement with one of a plurality of spaced retaining slots disposed on a movable sleeve which accommodates each hollow tube.
Referring initially to
FIG. 1
where it is shown a conventional retractable handle system
10
. The retractable handle system
10
consists of two parallel supporting tubes
12
and a grip
14
. The support tube
12
each has a tubular opening
16
for accepting a sliding tube
22
. At the upper end of the support tube
12
, an aperture
18
is provided for engaging a locking device
24
fixed to the end of the sliding tube
22
through a retractable locking pin
26
. The grip
14
consists of a housing grip
20
connected to the sliding tubes
22
which slidingly engaging the tubular openings
16
inside the support tubes
12
. At the end of each sliding tubes
22
, a locking device
24
is provided which includes a locking pin
26
for locking the grip
14
and the two sliding tubes
22
onto the support tubes
12
through apertures
18
. At the center of the grip
20
, a push button assembly
28
is provided for controlling the locking devices
24
mounted at the end of the sliding tubes
22
. When the push button device
28
is compressed downwardly toward the support tubes
12
, it causes the retraction of the locking pins
26
away from the apertures
18
such that the sliding tubes
22
may freely slide in the tubular openings
16
of the support tubes
12
.
A perspective view showing the components of grip
14
for the conventional handle assembly
10
of
FIG. 1
is illustrated in FIG.
2
. The internal structure of the push button device
28
is also shown. The grip housing
20
is constructed by an upper half
38
and a lower half
40
. The upper half
38
of the grip housing
20
is provided with an opening
42
for housing the push button
34
. The lower half
40
contains a cavity
44
and a shaft
46
affixed to the center of the cavity. The push button device
28
includes a push button
34
, a spring
48
and two sliding blocks
36
. The push button
34
is fitted to and can move freely upwardly and downwardly through the opening
42
in the upper half
38
of the grip housing
20
. The spring
48
is installed on the shaft
46
for supporting the push button
34
such that the top of the push button
34
protrudes over the opening
42
. The sliding blocks
36
are installed in the cavity
44
in the lower half
40
and are allowed to move in a longitudinal direction of the grip housing
20
. Each of the sliding blocks
36
having an end close to the shaft
46
that is equipped with an inclined surface
50
. The other end of the sliding block
36
is connected to a drive device
30
. The bottom of the push button
34
is also equipped with two inclined surfaces
56
which engage the inclined surfaces
50
on the two sliding blocks
36
when the push button
34
is compressed downwardly. The engagement between the inclined surfaces
56
and
50
forces the two sliding blocks
36
to move inwardly toward the shaft
46
. The inward movement of the sliding blocks
36
causes the drive means
30
to also move inwardly such that the locking device
24
connected to the bottom end of the drive device
30
can be released.
As described above, the operation of the conventional push button device
28
depends entirely on the engagement of the two inclined surfaces
56
situated on the bottom of the push button
34
with the two inclined surfaces
50
situated on the two sliding blocks
36
such that the two sliding blocks
36
are p
Chaw-Khong Co., Ltd.
Knight Anthony
Tung & Associates
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