Retractable handle bar assembly with safety alert system for traveling container

A retractable handle bar assembly incorporated with a traveling container includes a hand bar having a receiving cavity, a retractable arm for slidably folding the hand bar between a folded position and an unfolded position, locking device for locking the hand bar at the folded position, and a safety alert system, which is received in the receiving cavity of the hand bar, including an alert signal generator arranged in such a manner that when the hand bar is unlocked to slid from the folded position, the alert signal generator is activated to produce alert signals for aiding an attention of the container body.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a traveling container, and more particularly to a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein the safety alert system is incorporated with a retractable handle bar assembly of the traveling container for providing an alert signal, thereby aiding to increase safety.

2. Description of Related Arts

Traveling containers are considered as one of the useful tools for traveling. A conventional container such as a fabric type carrying baggage or a metal type carrying case has several drawbacks. One of the problem with the conventional carrying container is that they are bulky, usually heavy, and difficult to carry. In other words, the carrying container is immobilized at all times such that the user usually picks up the carrying container when he or she has to move from place to place. Therefore, such carrying container usually incorporates with a retractable handle bar assembly such that the user is able to easily carry the carrying container by slidably extending a hand bar of the retractable handle bar assembly.

In addition, when the user waits for the check in at the airport, he or she will usually put the carrying container aside until the departure time comes, so that the carrying container will be stolen easily. In other words, there is no alert system incorporated with the conventional carrying container to prevent the carrying container from being unintentionally stolen.

Moreover, all the conventional carrying containers are looked similar, the user may merely pick up a wrong carrying container that is not belong to him or her. Therefore, there are thousands of carrying containers lost at the airport everyday while the carrying containers are either taken by fault or stolen.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A main object of the present invention is to provide a retractable handle bar assembly with a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein the safety alert system is arranged to be activated to provide an alert signal for the traveling container, thereby aiding to increase safety.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retractable handle bar assembly with a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein the safety alert system additionally provides added visibility and/or audibility to the traveling container, so as to aid the user in notifying the traveling container in attendance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retractable handle bar assembly with a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein the actuation of the retractable handle bar assembly automatically activates the safety alert system so as to substantially increase the safety purpose of the traveling container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retractable handle bar assembly with a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein the safety system is installed into the retractable handle bar assembly such that the traveling container does not require altering its original structural design so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of the traveling container incorporating with the safety alert system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retractable handle bar assembly with a safety alert system for a traveling container, wherein no expensive or complicated structure is required to employ in the present invention in order to achieve the above mentioned objects. Therefore, the present invention successfully provides an economic and efficient solution for not only providing a safety alert configuration to the user but also enhancing the appearance and visibility of the traveling container.

Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a retractable handle bar assembly for a traveling container having a container body, comprising:

a hand bar having a first supporting wall and an opposed second supporting wall defining a receiving cavity therebetween;

means for slidably folding the hand bar between a folded position and an unfolded position, wherein at the folded position, the hand bar is arranged for moving towards the container body, and at the unfolded position, the hand bar is arranged for moving away from the container body;

means for locking the hand bar at the folded position; and

a safety alert system, which is received in the receiving cavity of the hand bar, comprising an alert signal generator arranged in such a manner that when the hand bar is unlocked to slid from the folded position, the alert signal generator is activated to produce alert signals for aiding an attention of the container body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIG. 1of the drawings, a retractable handle bar assembly for a traveling container1is illustrated, wherein the traveling container1, such as a conventional traveling container, having a container body2constructed by a plurality of fabric made container panels connected in an edge-to-edge manner so as to define a storage cavity within the container panels.

The retractable handle bar assembly comprises a hand bar10having a first supporting wall11and an opposed second supporting wall12defining a receiving cavity13therebetween, means20for slidably folding the hand bar10between a folded position and an unfolded position, wherein at the folded position, the hand bar10is arranged for moving towards the container body2, and at the unfolded position, the hand bar10is arranged for moving away from the container body2, and means30for locking the hand bar10at the folded position.

The retractable handle bar assembly further comprises a safety alert system40, which is received in the receiving cavity13of the hand bar10, comprising an alert signal generator41arranged in such a manner that when the hand bar10is unlocked to slid from the folded position, the alert signal generator41is activated to produce alert signals for aiding an attention of the container body2.

According to the preferred embodiment, the hand bar10is made of transparent material such as plastic in such a manner that the safety alert system40in the receiving cavity13can be seen from outside through the hand bar10.

As shown inFIG. 1, the hand bar10is constructed to have a first casing101forming the second supporting wall12and a second casing102forming the first supporting wall11to detachably mount on the first casing101to form the receiving cavity13within the first and second casings101,102.

The folding means20comprises a retractable base21attached to the container body2of the traveling container and a retractable arm22slidably extended from the retractable base21wherein the hand bar10is extended from the retractable arm22in such a manner that the retractable arm22is downwardly slid with respect to the retractable base21to reduce a distance between the hand bar10and the container body2, and at the unfolded position, the retractable arm22is upwardly slid with respect to the retractable base21to increase the distance between the hand bar10and the container body2.

The locking means30of the retractable handle bar assembly has an operation slot31formed on the first supporting wall11to communicate the receiving cavity13with outside and comprises a locking member32movably supported within the receiving cavity13and an operation button33extended from the locking member32to outside through the operation slot31for operating the locking member32to move from a normal locking position to an unlocking position.

The locking member32further comprises an arm locker321extended from the hand bar10to the retractable base21through the retractable arm22wherein at the locking position, the arm locker321normally locks up the retractable arm22with the retractable base21and at the unlocking position, the operation button33is pressed to drive the locking member32to release the locking up of the retractable arm22with respect to the retractable base21through the arm locker321.

Accordingly, the locking means30further comprises a sliding guider34supported within the receiving cavity13at a position between the first supporting wall11and the second supporting wall12for guiding the locking member32to slide within the receiving cavity13so as to guide the locking member32moving from the locking position to the unlocking position. The sliding guider34comprises a guiding rail341extended from the first supporting wall11to the second supporting wall12through a through hole320formed on the locking member32such that when a pressing force is applied on the operation button33, the locking member32is driven towards the second supporting wall12to release the locking up of the retractable arm22with respect to the retractable base21.

According to the preferred embodiment, the safety alert system40further comprises an electric circuit42which is supported by the locking member32within the receiving cavity13and is electrically connect with the alert signal generator41, and a control switch43connected to the electric circuit42and arranged in such a manner that when the locking member32is actuated to automatically actuate the control switch43, the alert signal generator41is activated to produce the alert signals.

Accordingly, the electric circuit42is configured that the alert signal generator41is preset to produce the alert signals for a predetermined time period. Alternatively, the control switch43is actuated to activate the alert signal generator41for producing the alert signals and to deactivate the alert signal generator to stop producing the alert signals in a sequence manner.

FIG. 3illustrates an electric diagram of the electric circuit42wherein the electric circuit42comprises an IC board421supported by the locking member442and a power source422electrically mounted on the IC board421. According to the preferred embodiment, the power source422is a replaceable battery mounted on the IC board421for providing electricity.

As shown inFIG. 2, the control switch43is a depressible button electrically mounted on the electric circuit42at a position towards the second supporting wall12in such a manner that when the operation button33is pressed towards the receiving cavity13, the control switch43is pressed by the second supporting wall12so as to activate the alert signal generator41. In other words, the first and second supporting walls11,12of the hand bar10has a predetermined distance that when the user presses the locking member32on the first supporting wall11to release the locking up of the retractable arm21, the control switch43is pressed on the second supporting wall12to activate the alert signal generator41. Therefore, when the retractable handle bar assembly is actuated to move the container body2of the traveling container1, the safety alert system40provides added alert signals to the traveling container1, so as to aid the user in notifying the traveling container1in attendance.

Accordingly, the alert signal generator41comprises at least an illuminator411electrically mounted on the IC board421of the electric circuit42wherein the illuminator411is arranged to be activated to produce visible signals as the alert signals. The illuminator411, according to the preferred embodiment, is a LED capable of generating the visible signals as the alert signals to enhance the visibility of the container body2so as to increase the safety purpose of the traveling container1.

As shown inFIG. 2, the alert signal generator41further comprises a panic generator412electrically mounted on the IC board421of the electric circuit42wherein the panic generator412is arranged to be activated to produce panic signals as the alert signals. In other words, the alert signal generator41produces not only visible signals but also panic signals as the alert signals to enhance the safety of the traveling container1.

FIG. 4illustrates an alternative mode of the safety alert system40′ which is detachably mounted to the hand bar10′ of the retractable handle bar assembly. As shown inFIG. 4, the first casing101′ of the hand bar10′ is mounted to the folding means20′ wherein the locking means30′ is received in the first casing101′ of the hand bar10′ to form as a conventional retractable handle bar assembly.

The second casing102′ of the hand bar10′, having a U-shaped cross sectional, detachably mount on the first casing101′ in a slidably movable manner to form the receiving cavity13′ within the first and second casings101′,102′, wherein the safety alert system40′ is received in the first casing101′. Accordingly, the control switch43′ of the safety alert system40′ is a depressible button electrically mounted on the electric circuit42′ at a position towards the first casing101′ in such a manner that when the second casing102′ is pressed towards the first casing101′, the control switch43′ is pressed by the first casing101′ so as to activate the alert signal generator41′. In other words, since the user must apply a gripping force on the hand bar10′, the gripping force will force the second casing102′ to press towards the first casing101′ to actuate the control switch43′ so as to activate the alert signal generator41′ for producing the alert signals for the traveling container.

It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure form such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.