Handle of a trunk

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6374457
  • Patent Number
    6,374,457
  • Date Filed
    Monday, July 3, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 23, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A handle of a trunk comprises a cover and a seat, in which a telescopic pull rod is connected to a handle at an upper hand thereof. Each of two sides of the seat and cover are installed with a lower through hole and an upper through hole. The lower through hole is connected to the push rod. The left lever is disposed with a pressing piece. A driving means is connected between the seat and the cover. The driving means is formed by a left and a right levers. A linkage is connected between the two left levers. Two ends of the driving means are connected to the pressing piece and further connected to a driven means. A lower end of the driven means passes through the push rod to a retaining piece. If pressing piece is pressed, the driving means will drive the driven means at two sides so that the push rod is released to be moved telescopically. In another type of the driving means, two ends thereof are connected with a respective lever type rack. A rack portion is installed therein. A gear is connected between the racks so that the two lever type rack are interacted.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a handle of a trunk, and especially to a handle structure which is comfortable in holding and has a preferred push control structure.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 9

shows a prior art handle of a trunk which is formed by a handle


6


and a related control means. A control button


63


is installed at a concave portion


62


of the handle


61


. A groove


64


, a pair of inner lever


65


and outer lever


66


and a resilient spring


67


is installed in the handle


61


. A pair of inner tubes


71


are connected to the two ends of the handle


6


. The inner tube


71


is inserted into an outer tube


72


. The inner lever


65


and outer lever


66


fixed by a pin, and the resilient spring


67


are installed in the groove


64


. The top edge of the inner tube


71


is connected to the handle


6


. The opening at top of the inner tube


71


is installed with a buckling concave pad


73


. A driven push rod


74


in the inner tube


71


penetrates through the inner tube


71


through the handle


6


to a tilt block in a barrel


75


. A buckling block


76


and an eject spring in the buckling block


76


are installed in the barrel


75


. The bottom of the barrel


75


can be sealed. A plurality of buckling holes


77


are installed at the wall of the outer tube


72


, and a plurality of retaining holes


78


are installed on the inner tube


72


. By two lower edges of the handle


6


to contact with the inner tube


71


and then to be connected to the outer tube


72


, the push rods


71


and


72


of the trunk can be controlled by the switch


73


for adjusting the elevation of the push rod (a pair of inner tube and outer tube). However, this prior art structure has many defects in applications, for example, protrusions or grooves are formed at the middle portion of the handle, this is not beneficial to be hold by a hand. Furthermore, mistakes are easily induced by the uncomfortably feeling of the handle. Therefore, there is an eager demand for a novel design of a handle of a trunk which can improve the defects in the prior art.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a handle of a trunk. Since in the prior art, the push control structure is installed at the upper and lower lateral sides of the middle portion of the handle, this is inconvenient to be held by a hand and the comfort feeling in holding is also affected. Therefore, the present invention provides an integral structure without concave edge portion at the handle for meeting the requirement in ergonomics.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a handle of a trunk, in which the push control structure is installed at two sides thereof. If it is necessary to adjust, it is only needed to press the pressing piece by thumb, and a telescopic adjustment is formed. Therefore, the present invention can be used conveniently instead of the prior art in which the hand holding the handle must in advance release from the handle. In the present invention, the adjusting work is performed in holding as desired.




In order to achieve the aforesaid object, the present invention provides a handle of a trunk comprises a cover and a seat, in which a telescopic pull rod is connected to a handle at an upper hand thereof. Each of two sides of the seat and cover are installed with a lower through hole and an upper through hole. The lower through hole is connected to the push rod. The left lever is disposed with a pressing piece. A driving means is connected between the seat and the cover. The driving means is formed by a left and a right levers. A linkage is connected between the two left levers. Two ends of the driving means are connected to the pressing piece and further connected to a driven means. A lower end of the driven means passes through the push rod to a retaining piece. If pressing piece is pressed, the driving means will drive the driven means at two sides so that the push rod is released to be moved telescopically. In another type of the driving means, two ends thereof are connected with a respective lever type rack. A rack portion is installed therein. A gear is connected between the racks so that the two lever type rack are interacted. The seat and the cover are installed with protrusions with respect to the driving means, so that the driving means move in the space between the protrusions of the driving means.




The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of the present invention.





FIG. 3

is an assembled cross sectional view of the present invention.





FIG. 4

is a cross sectional view showing the action of the present invention.





FIG. 5

is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 6

is an assemble cross sectional view showing a further embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 7

is a cross sectional view showing the action in the further embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 8

is an exploded perspective view of a jet embodiment in the present invention.





FIG. 9

is a cross sectional view of a prior art design.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




With reference to

FIGS. 1

to


8


,the handle of a trunk of the present invention is illustrated herein. In the handle of the present invention, a pair of telescopic push rods


2


are connected with a handle


1


at the upper end thereof. The handle


1


includes a cover


12


and a seat


11


. There are various types of handles which are not confined to those shown in the figures. Each of two sides of the seat


11


and cover


12


are installed with a respective lower through hole


14


for matching with the push rod


2


and an upper through hole


13


. The lower through hole


14


is connected to the upper end of the topmost rod of the push rod


2


. The upper through hole


13


is disposed with a pressing piece


3


. A driving means


4


is connected between the seat


11


and the cover


12


. As shown in

FIGS. 2

to


4


, the driving means


4


is formed by a left lever


41


and a right lever


42


. The two levers


41


and


42


are connected by a linkage


43


at the inner sides thereof. The linkage


43


is secured to a pin seat


15


f the seat


11


by a pin


55


. Two ends of the linkage


43


have respective long holes


431


and


432


which are passed by retaining pins


433


and


434


, respectively, to be connected to the retaining holes


411


and


421


within the levers


41


and


42


. The long holes on the linkage


43


serve to cause the levers to move horizontally. The rotation of the linkage will not cause the levers to lift upwards. The outer end of each of the levers


41


and


42


is connected to a respective driven means


5


. The lower end of each driven means


5


passes through the hollow portion of a respective push rod


2


to a retaining piece


50


. When any pressing piece


3


is pressed, the driven means


5


will be driven by the driving means


4


so that the push rod


2


will be released through the pressing piece


3


. In order that the left lever


41


and the right lever


42


are retained for horizontal movement, a lower protrusion


18


at the bottom surface of the cover


12


presses the upper surface of the left lever


41


, and a larger protrusion


19


presses the upper surface of the right lever


42


; a protrusion


16


in the seat


11


rests against the lower surface of the left lever


41


, and a smaller protrusion


17


rests against the lower end surface of the right lever


42


. Therefore, it is assured that the bodies of the levers


41


and


42


only move in a confining space defined between the corresponding protrusions


16


,


17


,


18


and


19


.




As shown in

FIGS. 5

to


7


, another type of driving means


4


is formed by a gear and lever type racks. The sides thereof are installed with a left lever type rack


44


and a right lever type rack


45


. Each has a respective rack portion


46


,


47


which are installed at the inner ends of the lever type racks


44


and


45


. The rack portions


46


,


47


of the lever type racks


44


,


45


are connected to a gear


48


disposed therebetween so that the two lever type racks


44


and


45


are driven by one another. The gear


48


is fixed to the pin seat


15


of the seat


11


by a pin


55


. Similarly, the lever type racks


44


and


45


with transverse rack portions


46


and


47


move transversely in a space formed by the protrusions


18


and


19


of the cover


12


, which are not at the same elevation, and the protrusions


16


and


17


of the seat


11


, which are not at the same elevation. The levers are alternately spaced longitudinally, as shown in

FIG. 5

the alternate longitudinal arrangement may be changed to an alternate transverse arrangement, as shown in FIG.


8


. Namely, the rack portions


46


and


47


are respectively arranged at the front and rear sides of the lever type racks


44


and


45


, instead of being installed on the top and bottom sides, and the gear


48


is disposed upright. This is another embodiment of the present invention. A difference in the embodiment of

FIG. 8

, is that the lever type racks


44


and


45


with transverse rack portions


46


and


47


transversely move in a space formed by the protrusions


18


and


19


of the cover


12


, which are at the same elevation, and the protrusions


16


and


17


of the seat


11


, which are at the same elevation.




The lever type racks or levers may respectively be directly pressed and contacted by the pressing pieces. The bottom of each pressing piece


3


has a slanted bottom surface


32


for being connected to the corresponding slanted top surface


49


at the outer end of each lever. Each lever may be pivotally connected to or enclosed by the seat


11


. Each pressing piece


3


has a lower edge


31


for preventing the pressing piece from sliding out of the respective through hole


13


in the cover


12


. Alternately, each pressing piece


3


can be pivotally connected to the cover


12


or the seat


11


. By means of the slanted bottom surface


32


of the pressing pieces


3


, the elements of each lever move inwards or outwards, so that the lower slanted surface


40


of each lever is in contact with a respective top slanted surface


52


of the driven means


5


. Thus, the top slanted surface


52


is driven by the driven means to move downwards. The driven means


5


, in general, includes a generally used rope, steel rope, or a steel plate. A lid


51


is formed at the top of the driven means


5


. A spring


53


is engaged between the lower portion of the lid


51


and the lower through hole


14


of the seat


11


for restoring the respective pressing piece


3


to its original position. Furthermore, the retaining piece


50


may have various structures, thus the details thereof will not be described further. The function thereof is to fix two sections of the push rod


2


. When only one of the pressing pieces


3


is pressed, the driven means


5


will cause one driving element, a linkage or a gear, of the driving means


4


, to drive the lever (lever or lever type rack) on the other side to operate. Meanwhile, the lever on the other side will press the respective driven means


5


on that side, to achieve the object of synchronous action.




In summary, in the present invention, a pair of pressing pieces are installed at two sides of a handle, and two ends of a driving means are connected to the pressing piece, respectively, and also connected to a driven means. The lower end of the driving means passes through a push rod to a retaining piece. The retaining piece serves to buckle and fix two sectional rods of a push rod. When any pressing piece is pressed, the driving means will drive the driven means at two sides of the handle so that the push rods are released and telescopically moved. By the function of the racks or linkages, two sides of the driving means cause the driven means at two sides to move simultaneously, the seat and cover are installed with protrusions with respect to the driving means so that the driving means moves in the space formed by the respective upper and lower protrusions. A spring


53


can be further added to each driven means to bias the pressing pieces. Therefore, the body of the handle, i.e., the middle section thereof being held by a hand, has no notch. Despite that the trunk is pulled by any hand, left or right, the hand will feel comfortable. If it is necessary to adjust the handle, it is only needed to press one of the pressing pieces with a thumb, and a telescopic adjustment is enabled. Therefore, the present invention can be used conveniently, instead of the prior art structure where the hand holding the handle must, in advance, be released from the handle.




Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described herein. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A handle for coupling to a pair of multi-sectional push rods of a trunk comprising:a longitudinally extended seat, each of two sides of the seat being formed with a lower through hole for receiving a respective one of the push rods therein, each lower through hole being connected to an upper end of a respective multi-sectional push rod; a longitudinally extended cover overlaying the seat, each of two sides of the cover being formed with an upper through hole; a pair of pressing members respectively disposed in the upper through holes of the cover; driving means is connected between the seat and the cover, each of two ends of the driving means having portions connected to a respective one of the pressing members; and, first driven means and second driven means respectively connected to the two ends of the driving means, a lower end of each of the first and second driven means passing through a respective push rod to a corresponding retaining piece thereof, each retaining piece providing releasable coupling between sections of a corresponding multi-sectional push rod, wherein responsive to depression of one of the pressing members, the driving means will drive the first and second driven means so that the pair of push rods are released to be moved telescopically.
  • 2. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving means includes (a) a pair of longitudinally displaceable lever type racks, each of the lever type racks having a rack portion formed on a respective inner side thereof, and (b) a gear rotatably coupled between the rack portions of the two lever type racks so that the lever type racks are moved interactively as the gear is rotated by longitudinal displacement of one of the lever type racks responsive to depression of a corresponding one of the pressing members.
  • 3. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving means includes (a) a left and a right lever longitudinally displaceably disposed between the cover and the seat, and (b) a linkage is connected between inner ends of the two levers, the linkage being pivotally connected at a center thereof.
  • 4. The handle as claimed in claim 3, wherein two ends of the linkage each have a respective long hole formed therein, each of the long holes having a retaining pin passing therethrough for connection to a corresponding retaining hole formed in the inner end of a respective lever.
  • 5. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second driven means is formed with a cover piece and a spring engaged between a corresponding one of the lower through holes of the seat and the cover piece.
  • 6. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving means and the pressing members are connected together by cooperative inclined surfaces respectively formed thereon.
  • 7. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving means and each of the first and second driven means are connected together by cooperative inclined surfaces respectively formed thereon.
  • 8. The handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat and the cover are each formed with protrusions extending toward the other and define a space therebetween, the driving means being movably disposed in the space between the protrusions.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
5581846 Wang Dec 1996 A
5639109 Liang Jun 1997 A
5781965 Lu Jul 1998 A
5816374 Hsien Oct 1998 A
5822831 Cheng Oct 1998 A
5862898 Chang Jan 1999 A
5864921 Chou Feb 1999 A
6026542 Lu Feb 2000 A
6061871 Wang May 2000 A