Trunks and hand-carried luggage – Supporting devices – Wheeled
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-25
2001-01-23
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3727)
Trunks and hand-carried luggage
Supporting devices
Wheeled
C190S115000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176357
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage for protecting the bottom thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, a wheeled luggage comprises a luggage body made of fabric or plastic material, a handle grip assembly, a pair of parallel sliding tubes provided on a side of the luggage, a pair of support tubes for receiving the sliding tubes and allowing the sliding tubes to slide therein, a bezel assembly for securing the support tubes, a base support, and a pair of wheels provided on a side of the bottom of the luggage wherein the base support is provided on the interior of the luggage and is in cooperation with an outer plate for securing the bottom portions of the support tubes therebetween by means of, for example a plurality of screws or bolts, and each wheel is secured onto the bottom of the luggage by means of a stand.
This conventional wheeled luggage can be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,000 and Taiwanese Publication No. 241,474 (announced on Feb. 21, 1995). They are advantageous being possibly fabricated from commercial available components. However, such wheeled luggage are disadvantageous for the following reasons:
1) Tedious and time-consuming in the assembly process.
2) Monotony in form.
3) The bottom of the luggage, including the portions near the wheels and the portion between the wheels, is subjected to be damaged when the luggage is in contact with other sharp objects, such as moved on the ground.
It is thus desirable to provide a protection device for preventing such portions from being damaged by e.g., scraping.
A couple of designs for providing such protection device have been located in a search as follows:
Taiwanese Publication No. 205,651 (Application No. 81,216,373) discloses a handle grip assembly for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage wherein a protection device for a support is provided. It is designed to mold each bottom of the support tubes to be a flat part in order to be secured onto the outer surface of an L-shaped stand by means of rivets or bolts. However, this is unsatisfactory for being inconvenient in assembly, and the width of the protection device is simply slightly larger than that of the support tube. As such, it is difficult to enlarge the width of the protection device. Even if the width of the protection device is enlarged, the assembly process is further tedious.
Taiwanese Publication No. 331,096 (Application No. 86,218,980) discloses an improvement base support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage, and Taiwanese Publication No. 341,075 (Application No. 87,204,434) discloses an improvement device for stabilizing a base support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage. Both are simple in construction, and easy in assembly. However, these two designs are unsatisfactory for having a pair of exposed for securing the support tubes and the base support. In other words, the securing elements are not received within the luggage, and thus, the whole luggage is somewhat ugly in its appearance although the construction of the base support is improved.
Accordingly, the need remains for an improved and satisfactory base support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage in order to overcome the above drawbacks of prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a base support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage for protecting the bottom thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a base support mechanism for a retractable handle of a wheeled luggage wherein the support tubes are received within the luggage body, and an inner plate is secured to the base support between two wheels for enabling the wheels, the support tubes, and the base support to form an integral whole. This base support is simple in construction, easy to assemble, and thus a protection to the base support is feasible.
The advantages of the present invention are realized by providing a base support mechanism which comprises a base support disposed on an exterior of the luggage body and an inner plate provided on an interior of the luggage body wherein the inner plate has a pair of openings, the luggage body has a pair of openings provided on the lower portion, the base support includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion having a pair of sockets provided on an inner side thereof. Each socket is inserted through a corresponding opening of the luggage body and a corresponding opening of the inner plate. The bottom of the support tube is further inserted into the socket. Thereafter, a securing element is employed to secure the support tube to the socket. Finally, one wheel is secured to a side of the inner plate and the other wheel is secured to an opposite side of the inner plate for finishing the assembly of a protection device onto the luggage.
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: 5431428 (1995-07-01), Marchwiak et al.
patent: 5653000 (1997-08-01), Lee
patent: 5653319 (1997-08-01), Wang
patent: 5685402 (1997-11-01), Lin
patent: 5782325 (1998-07-01), O'Shea et al.
patent: 5865281 (1999-02-01), Wang
patent: 5918710 (1998-07-01), Sher
patent: 241474 (1995-02-01), None
Chaw Khong Technology Co. Ltd.
Dougherty & Troxell
Mai Tri M.
Shoap Allan N.
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