Foldable handle assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6581245
  • Patent Number
    6,581,245
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, September 6, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 24, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A foldable handle assembly includes a handle, two connecting devices, two resilience devices, two balls and two shafts. Each of the connecting devices includes a base and a projecting post wherein the projecting post has a first ball receptacle and a second ball receptacle and the base has a screwed recess. When the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the first ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in a first position, and when the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the second ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in a second position.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a foldable handle assembly, and more particularly to a foldable handle assembly installed on a panel of an appliance.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A typical foldable handle assembly principally includes a handle for grasping. When the handle is operated to a folded position, the handle is securely stored. When the handle is operated to an upright position, the handle is securely held and accessible for a user to pull the appliance.




A power supply module has a foldable handle assembly mounted on a panel thereof, and thus it can be pulled out for checking and repairing the components therewithin. Please refer to FIGS.


1


(


a


) and


1


(


b


). The typical foldable handle assembly includes a handle


10


, two connecting devices


12


, two balls


13


, two resilience devices


14


and two shafts


15


. The two ends of the handle


10


are arc-shaped, wherein each has two recesses


101


,


102


and a hole


104


. The recess


101


and recess


102


are respectively disposed on the tip and a side surface of the arc-shaped end. The connecting device


12


is principally cup-shaped, wherein its shell has a notch


124


and two openings


122


,


123


corresponding to the hole


104


and the shaft


15


. The connecting device


12


further includes a male-screwed post


121


formed on the bottom surface thereof. A resilience device receptacle


127


is disposed on a top surface of male-screwed post


121


, as can be seen in FIG.


1


(


c


), for receiving the resilience device


14


and the ball


13


. Referring to FIG.


1


(


c


), when the handle


10


is operated to an upright position, i.e. a position for pulling the appliance, the ball


13


is inserted into the first ball recess


101


by the resilience force generated from the resilience device


14


and thus the handle


10


is securely held in the upright position. When the handle


10


is operated to a stored position, the handle


10


is folded through the notch


124


and the ball


13


is inserted into the second ball recess


102


by the resilience force generated from the resilience device


14


and thus the handle


10


is securely held in the stored position. FIG.


1


(


d


) is a schematic view illustrating that a typical handle assembly is coupled to a panel


161


of an appliance by passing the male-screwed posts


121


through bores


162


of the panel


161


and then fastening the male-screwed posts


121


on the panel


161


with corresponding hexagonal nuts


163


.




Although the above-mentioned foldable handle assembly is capable of being securely held either in an upright position or a folded position, it still has some drawbacks as follows:




1. For fastening the male-screwed posts


121


on the panel


161


, a corresponding hexagonal sleeve (not shown) is required to rotate the hexagonal nuts


163


. The nuts are typically operated manually, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. In addition, the hexagonal sleeve is not a common tool in a production line.




2. The connection of the male-screwed post


121


and the nut


163


occupies partly the interior space of the appliance, which is disadvantageous for miniaturization of the appliance.




3. Sine the male-screwed post


121


and the nut


163


are usually made of metal, extra insulation is needed for preventing operators from getting electrical shock and for avoiding electrical connection of the nut


163


and the electronic components within the appliance, which is costly.




4. Since the receptacle


127


is formed by drilling off a portion of the male-screwed post


121


, it is found that the strength thereon is weak and the handle assembly is easily broken when the appliance is very weighty.




Therefore, the present invention provides an improved foldable handle assembly so as to overcome the problems described above.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable handle assembly, which is connected to a panel by a commonly used screw bolt.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a foldable handle assembly for saving interior space of an appliance when the foldable handle assembly is coupled with the panel of the appliance.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a foldable handle assembly to avoid electrical connection with electronic components within the appliance.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a foldable handle assembly to increase strength where it is connected to the panel.




In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable handle assembly installed on a panel of an appliance. The foldable handle assembly includes a handle, two connecting devices, two resilience devices, two balls and two shafts. Each end of the handle has a resilience device receptacle and protrudes to form two parallel plates, wherein each plate has a hole. Each of the resilience devices is disposed within the resilience device receptacle. Each of the balls is in contact with the resilience device. Each of the connecting devices includes a base and a projecting post wherein the projecting post has a first ball receptacle and a second ball receptacle corresponding to the resilience device receptacle and a channel corresponding to the hole, and the base has a screwed recess for being fastened on the panel. Each of the shafts is inserted into the hole and the channel as a pivot. When the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the first ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in a first position, and when the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the second ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in a second position.




Preferably, the first ball receptacle and the second ball receptacle are disposed on a tip and a side surface of the projecting post, respectively.




Preferably, the resilience device is a spring.




Preferably, the shaft is a pin.




Preferably, the first position is an upright position and the second position is a folded position.




Preferably, the appliance is a power supply module.




Preferably, the appliance is one of a drawer and a brief case.




In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable handle assembly installed on a panel of a power supply module. The foldable handle assembly includes a handle, two connecting devices, two resilience devices, two balls and two shafts, and is characterized in that: each end of the handle has a resilience device receptacle and protrudes to form two parallel plates wherein each plate has a hole; each of the resilience devices is disposed within the resilience device receptacle; each of the balls is in contact with the resilience device; each of the connecting devices includes a base and a projecting post wherein the projecting post has a first ball receptacle and a second ball receptacle respectively disposed on a tip and a side surface of the projecting post and a channel corresponding to the hole, and the base has a screwed recess for being fastened on the panel; and each of the shafts is inserted into the hole and the channel as a pivot, wherein when the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the first ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in an upright position, and when the handle is operated such that the ball is inserted into the second ball receptacle, the handle is securely held in a folded.




The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




FIG.


1


(


a


) is an exploded view of a foldable handle assembly according to prior art;




FIG.


1


(


b


) is perspective view of FIG.


1


(


a


);




FIG.


1


(


c


) is a partially side-sectional view of FIG.


1


(


b


);




FIG.


1


(


d


) is a schematic view showing that the foldable handle assembly in FIG.


1


(


b


) is installed on a panel of an appliance;




FIG.


2


(


a


) is an exploded view of a foldable handle assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;




FIG.


2


(


b


) is perspective view of FIG.


2


(


a


);




FIG.


3


(


a


) is a schematic view illustrating the foldable handle assembly according to the present invention is securely held in a folded position;




FIG.


3


(


b


) is a schematic sectional view illustrating the foldable handle assembly according to the present invention is operated between the folded position and an upright position;




FIG.


3


(


c


) is a schematic sectional view illustrating the foldable handle assembly according to the present invention is securely held in the upright position; and





FIG. 4

is a view illustrating the foldable handle assembly according to the present invention is installed on a panel of an appliance.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




FIGS.


2


(


a


) and


2


(


b


) are respectively exploded and perspective views of the foldable handle assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The foldable handle assembly includes a handle


20


, two connecting devices


22


, two balls


23


, two resilience devices


24


and two shafts


25


.




Each end of the handle


20


protrudes to form two parallel plates


201


and


202


and has a resilience device receptacle


207


. Each of the plates


201


and


202


has holes


203


and


204


, respectively.




Each connecting device


22


includes a base


221


and a projecting post


222


. The projecting post


222


has a first ball receptacle


223


and a second ball receptacle


224


corresponding to the resilience device receptacle


207


. In this embodiment, the first ball receptacle


223


and the second ball receptacle


224


are disposed on a tip and a side surface of the projecting post


222


, respectively. The connecting device


22


further includes a channel


225


corresponding to the holes


203


and


204


of the handle


20


. The width of the projecting post


222


is slightly lower than the distance between the two parallel plates


201


and


202


; therefore, the projecting base


222


can be placed between the two parallel plates


201


and


202


. The base


221


has a screwed recess


226


extending from the bottom surface thereof. The resilience device


24


in this embodiment is a spring and disposed within the resilience device receptacle


207


. The ball


23


is in contact with the resilience device


24


for obtaining resilience force to be urged against either the first ball receptacle


223


or the second ball receptacle


224


such that the handle


20


can be securely held in either the upright position or the folded position.




When the shaft


25


is inserted into the hole


203


, the channel


225


and the hole


204


, the foldable handle assembly of the present invention is finished. In this embodiment, the shaft


25


is a pin.




Please refer to FIGS.


3


(


a


) and


3


(


c


). It will be found that the foldable handle assembly of the present invention can be securely held either in an upright position or a folded position by allowing the ball


23


to be inserted into either the first ball receptacle


223


or the second ball receptacle


224


. The shaft


25


is used as a pivot. In FIG.


3


(


b


), the foldable handle assembly is not securely held when it is operated between the upright and the folded position, because the balls


23


are not inserted into either the first ball receptacle


223


or the second ball receptacle


224


.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, the foldable handle assembly according to the present invention is connected with a panel


261


of an appliance by passing screw bolts


263


through bores


262


of the panel


261


and then fastening the screwed recess


226


of the foldable handle assembly on the panel


261


.




The foldable handle assembly of the present invention is preferably adapted but not limited to be used in an electrical appliance, a drawer and a brief case.




As will be apparent from the above description according to the present invention, the foldable handle assembly has the following advantages:




1. The handle assembly of the present invention is installed on the panel


261


by coupling the screwed recess


223


with the screw bolt


263


. Since screw bolt is a commonly used element and can be operated with a screwdriver or even pneumatic tools or power-driven tools, the assembling process is simple.




2. Since the head of screw bolt


263


is much thinner than the nut


163


in the prior art, the screw bolt


263


occupies little or no interior space of the appliance, which is advantageous for miniaturization of the appliance.




3. Extra insulation between the screw bolt


263


and the components, because the screw bolt


263


occupies little or no interior space of the appliance.




4. While it is known that the screwed recess


226


on the base


221


and the resilience device receptacle


127


on the male-screwed post


121


may reduce the strength of the base


221


and the male-screwed post


121


, the strength of the base


221


in the present invention is much larger than that of the male-screwed post


121


in the prior art when comparing their sizes.




While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.



Claims
  • 1. A foldable handle assembly installed on a panel of an appliance, comprising a handle, two connecting devices, two resilience devices, two balls and two shafts, characterized in that:each end of said handle has a resilience device receptacle and protrudes to form two parallel plates, each plate having a hole; each of said resilience devices is disposed within said respective resilience device receptacle; each of said balls is in contact with said respective resilience device; each of said connecting devices comprises a base and a projecting post wherein said projecting post has a first ball receptacle and a second ball receptacle corresponding to said respective resilience device receptacle and a channel corresponding to said respective hole, and said base has a screwed recess for being fastened on said panel; and each of said shafts is inserted into said respective hole and said respective channel as a pivot, wherein when said handle is operated such that said respective ball is inserted into said respective first ball receptacle, said handle is securely held in a first position, and when said handle is operated such that said respective ball is inserted into said respective second ball receptacle, said handle is securely held in a second position.
  • 2. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first ball receptacle and said second ball receptacle are disposed on a tip and a side surface of said projecting post, respectively.
  • 3. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of said resilience devices is a spring.
  • 4. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of said shafts is a pin.
  • 5. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first position is an upright position.
  • 6. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second position is a folded position.
  • 7. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein said appliance is a power supply module.
  • 8. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein said appliance is one of a drawer and a brief case.
  • 9. A foldable handle assembly installed on a panel of a power supply module, comprising a handle, two connecting devices, two resilience devices, two balls and two shafts, characterized in that:each end of said handle has a resilience device receptacle and protrudes to form two parallel plates, each plate having a hole; each of said resilience devices is disposed within said respective resilience device receptacle; each of said balls is in contact with said respective resilience device; each of said connecting devices comprises a base and a projecting post wherein said projecting post has a first ball receptacle and a second ball receptacle respectively disposed on a tip and a side surface of said projecting post and a channel corresponding to said respective hole, and said base has a screwed recess for being fastened on said panel; and each of said shafts is inserted into said respective hole and said respective channel as a pivot, wherein when said handle is operated such that said ball is inserted into said respective first ball receptacle, said handle is securely held in an upright position, and when said handle is operated such that said ball is inserted into said respective second ball receptacle, said handle is securely held in a folded position.
  • 10. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 9, wherein each of said resilience devices is a spring.
  • 11. The foldable handle assembly according to claim 9, wherein each of said shafts is a pin.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
90204878 U Mar 2001 TW
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
3082473 West Mar 1963 A
4271731 Suligoy et al. Jun 1981 A
5168601 Liu Dec 1992 A
5412842 Riblett May 1995 A
5887927 Kurek, III et al. Mar 1999 A
6318741 Chen Nov 2001 B1
6341406 Beckman Jan 2002 B1
6401301 Hung Jun 2002 B1