Patent Application
20120013140
The present invention is directed toward a hand grip device for carried articles and, in particular, to a handle for luggage and similar objects that must be carried by hand.
Luggage such as bags and suitcases are often designed to incorporate comfort elements that render them more comfortable for a person to carry that luggage. For example, a luggage handle may be contoured along its underside to receive the palmar side of the fingers of the person that holds the bag. Each hand, however, is unique in its size and shape. A specially contoured handle suitable for an “average” hand is less suitable for persons whose hand deviates in size and/or shape from that average. Alternatively, a luggage handle may include a layer of resilient material designed to conform to a hand gripping the handle. This material, however, deforms easily; consequently, the luggage item cannot be firmly held unless the handle is grasped so tightly as to squeeze all of the resilience of the layer. This often causes fatigue of the hand muscles.
Another approach has been to provide a generally cylindrical handle that varies in diameter with the largest diametric segment midway between ends including the smallest diametric segment (i.e., the handle is fatter in the center than at its ends). Persons carrying heavy luggage with this type of handle, however, tend to find the handle uncomfortable because the middle and fourth fingers of the hand are required to carry most of the weight of the object being carried.
A handle design must also address other important parameters such as the weight of the handle and the positional stability of the handle in a person's hand. It is undesirable for the handle to add significantly to the load being carried. The handle, moreover, must be configured such that it will not slip from the person's hand.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a handle that is comfortable, strong, and lightweight and overcomes to above drawbacks.
The present invention is directed toward a hand grip device that disperses the load of the article being carried across the palmar side of the hand. The hand grip device includes a body and, optionally, a coupling member. The body includes a medial portion and two end portions. The body is structured such that the outermost segment of each end portion defines the largest diametric segment of the body. In addition, the medial portion includes the body's smallest diametric segment. Specifically, the smallest diametric body segment is longitudinally disposed between the two end portions, being located approximately midway between the outermost body segments. The coupling member connects the body to the article to be carried such as a bag. The coupling member may be in the form of a pliable strap extending through the body with end portions that connect to the carried article.
Like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components.
Referring to the embodiment illustrated in
The body 105 is a generally hyperboloidal structure (i.e., a structure designed with hyperboloid geometry) having a central longitudinal axis A. In particular, it is in the form of a hyperboloid of one sheet described by the equation x2/c2+y2/b2−z2/c2=1. As a result, the structure possesses a negative Gaussian curvature, i.e., the body 105 curves inward (toward the central longitudinal axis A) in the longitudinal direction rather than outward or rather than having no curve (i.e., being straight sided).
The body 105 may possess any cross section suitable for its intended purpose. By way of example, the vertical cross section (i.e., the cross section taken along an axis oriented generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis A) at any point along the body 105 may be an ellipse or circle. The horizontal cross section (taken along an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis A) may be a hyperbola that opens upward/downward or sideways (depending on values of x and y). In a preferred embodiment, the body is a circular hyperboloid, i.e., a hyperboloid in which each vertical cross section of the body is generally circular.
Referring to
As mentioned above, a flange may be connected to each of the outermost body segments 125A, 125B. The flanges 130A, 130B may each possess a diameter greater than the diameter of the body 105 along its corresponding end portion 115A, 115B. As a result, each flange 130A, 130B is slightly radially offset from its associated body extremity 125A, 125B such that it extends radially beyond the exterior surface 220 of the body 105 and forms an interior shoulder 235. The flanges 130A, 130B may possess any suitable shape suitable for its described purpose. Typically, the flanges 130A, 130B possess a vertical cross section similar to that of the body 105. By way of example, when the body 105 possesses a generally circular cross section, the flanges 130A, 130B may be generally annular, thereby defining a first flange opening 240A proximate the first outermost body segment 125A and a second flange opening 240B proximate the second outermost body segment 125B.
A central bore or channel 245, defined by the interior wall surface 210 of the body 105, extends from the first flange 130A to the second flange 130B. The bore 245 and flange openings 240A, 240B cooperate to permit the passage of a coupling member through the body 105 (discussed in greater detail below).
The gripping member 100 may possess any dimensions suitable for its described purposed. By way of example, the gripping member 100 may possess a length of approximately 10-15 cm, preferably approximately 13 cm; a maximum diametric segment (measured along outermost body segment) of approximately 3-5 cm (e.g., 4.8 cm); a circumference (measured along one of the flange 130A, 130B and the end portions 115A, 115B) of approximately 11-15 cm, and preferably approximately 12.5-14 cm; and a circumference measured along the valley 225 of approximately 9.5-11 cm, and preferably approximately 9.72-10.8 cm.
The body 105 may further include one or more windows operable to mate with an end cap, securing the end cap to the body. In the embodiment illustrated in
The exterior surface 220 of the body 105 may be textured to increase the coefficient of friction of the grip device 210 and/or to provide increased gripping comfort to the device. By way of example, the body 105 may include one or more ribs or protrusions 310 extending from the body exterior surface 220. The ribs or protrusions 310 may be longitudinally and/or angularly spaced about the circumference of the body 105 such that the protrusions substantially cover the body. The protrusions 310 may be in the form a geometric shape such as a circle or a polygon (diamonds, squares, hexagons, etc) that extend (i.e., is raised) radially outward or from the exterior surface 220 of the body 105. In addition combinations of shapes may be utilized.
In another embodiment, the exterior surface 220 of the body 105 may possess a micro-textured or roughened surface that increases the frictional coefficient of the body (and thus decreases the potential for slippage). By way of further example, the exterior surface 220 may possess a tackified surface (i.e., the surface may be treated with a tackifying agent).
The hand grip device 10 may further include end caps adapted to couple to the gripping member 100. In the embodiment illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the cover portion 410 is a plate disposed on the widened end of the frustoconical insert portion 405. The cover portion 410 may extend radially beyond the circumference of the insert portion 405 (e.g., at a distance less than the intermediate length of the insert portion 410). With this configuration, the cover portion 410 includes an interior ledge 435 that engages the interior shoulder 235 existing along each outermost body segment 125A, 125B (discussed in detail below).
The end cap 400 may further include a plurality of resilient fingers 450 angularly spaced about the perimeter of the cover portion 410 and configured such that the fingers generally align with the windows 300 formed into the body 105. Each finger 450, which extends along the axis of the end cap 400, may include a proximal post 455 and a distal locking tab 460. The posts 455 are radially resilient; consequently, the locking tabs 460 are biased radially outward from the end cap 400. With this configuration, when the end cap 400 is axially inserted into the opening 240A, 240B of the gripping member 100 defined by the flange 130A, 130B, the locking tabs 460 initially flex radially inward to clear interior shoulder 235. Once aligned with its corresponding window 300, the biasing force of each finger 450 urges the locking tab 260 into the window.
Referring to
To separate the end cap 400 from the gripping member 100, each locking tab 460 is urged radially inward until it clears its corresponding window 300. The end cap 400 is then drawn axially outward from the body 105.
The cover portion 410 may be further adapted to position and support the coupling member 103 in a predetermined orientation. Referring back to
The coupling member 103 is configured to couple the gripping member 100 to a carried article such as a bag or other luggage item. The coupling member 103 may be either flexible or rigid. By way of example, the coupling member 103 may be an elongated, transversely flexible strap. In operation, the coupling member 103 is threaded through the aperture 470 of the end cap 400 disposed along the first end portion 115A, drawn through the bore 245 of the body 105, and then drawn through the aperture 470 of the end cap 400 disposed along the second end portion 115B. With this configuration, the aperture 470 on each end cap 400 cooperates to prevent the rotation of the coupling member 103 within the body 105, stabilizing the gripping member 100 and preventing its rotation with respect to the coupling member and/or carried article.
The ends of the strap may be permanently or releasably secured to the carried article. In one embodiment, each end 610A, 610B of the coupling member 103 is permanently secured to the carried article 620 via sewing, adhesive, etc (
The above described grip device provides a contour that is comfortable for hands of substantially all sizes and shapes and that is both lightweight and positionally stable while in a person's hand. In addition, the grip device, being a hyperboloid structure, possesses a doubly ruled exterior surface. A surface is doubly ruled if through every one of its points there are two distinct lines that lie on the surface. A structure with a doubly ruled surface is stronger than curved surfaces that do not have such a ruling. As a result, the hand grip device 10 is strong, lightweight, and comfortable.
While the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, the hand grip device 10 (the body 105, flanges 130A, 130B, and end caps 400) may be formed of any suitable materials and may possess any dimensions suitable for their respective described purposes. Similarly, the coupling member 103 may be formed from any suitable materials and possess any suitable dimensions. The hand grip device 10 may possess a unitary structure, and may be a solid or hollow structure.
Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It is to be understood that terms such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “side”, “height”, “length”, “width”, “upper”, “lower”, “interior”, “exterior”, and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration.
Having described preferred embodiments, it is believed that other modifications, variations and changes will be suggested to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings set forth herein. It is therefore to be understood that all such variations, modifications and changes are believed to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
