Expandable pull rod of luggage

An expandable pull rod of a luggage is formed of a handle, an adjustment device disposed in the handle, an inner tube fastened with the bottom end of the handle, a first locating element fastened with the inner tube, a first outer tube sleeved over the inner tube such that the first outer tube and the inner tube and securely connected by the first locating element, a second locating element fastened with the bottom end of the first outer tube, and a second outer tube sleeved over the first outer tube such that the first outer tube and the second outer tube are connected by the second locating element. The expansion and the retraction of the expandable pull rod are achieved by the first locating element and the second locating element. By activating the adjustment device, the inner tube and the first outer tube can be fully retracted into the second outer tube.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a luggage, and more particularly 
to an expandable pull rod of the luggage. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional expandable pull rod of the luggage and 
the like is composed of an inner tube and an outer tube fitted over the 
inner tube which can be extracted and retracted to facilitate the moving 
of the luggage on a surface. The outer tube of the conventional expandable 
pull rod has a predetermined length. As a result, the overall volume of 
the luggage can not be significantly reduced. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to provide a 
luggage with an expandable pull rod comprising an inner tube, a first 
outer tube, a second outer tube, a first locating element, and a second 
locating element. The inner tube is slidably received in the first outer 
tube such that the inner tube can be extracted from or retracted into the 
first outer tube. As the inner tube is retracted into the first outer 
tube, the second locating element is urged by the first locating element 
such that the second outer tube is released by the second locating element 
so as to enable the first outer tube to be retracted into the second outer 
tube. 
The foregoing objective, features, functions, and advantages of the present 
invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation 
of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the 
present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an expandable pull rod embodied in the present 
invention is used in conjunction with a luggage, and the like and is 
composed of a handle 1, an adjustment device 2, an inner tube 3, a first 
locating element 4, a first outer tube 5, a second locating element 6, and 
a second outer tube 7. 
The handle 1 is provided with a grip 11, and a cord channel 12 located 
inside the handle 1. 
The adjustment device 2 has a grip portion 21 which is jutted out of the 
bottom of the grip 11 of the handle 1 and is provided with a press portion 
212 having a spring 211. The press portion 212 is disposed in the cord 
channel 12 of the handle 1. 
The inner tube 3 is provided with a fastening body 31 fastened therewith. 
The fastening body 31 is fastened with the bottom end of the handle 1. The 
inner tube 3 is further provided with a through hole 32. 
The first locating element 4 is fastened with the bottom end of the inner 
tube 3 and is provided with a first locating portion 41 corresponding in 
location to the through hole 32 of the inner tube 3. The first locating 
portion 41 is joined with an L-shaped body 42 of the first locating 
element 4. The L-shaped body 42 is in turn joined with a pull cord 43 
which is disposed in the cord channel 12 of the handle 1 and the inner 
tube 3. 
FIG. 2 shows all the components of the expandable pull rod of the present 
invention, and FIG. 3 shows the pull rod of the present invention when it 
is fully extended. As the pull cord 43 is pulled, the L-shaped body 42 is 
atuated to trigger the first locating portion 41 to extract or retract. 
The first locating element 4 is provided with a retaining portion 44 of an 
inclined and arcuate construction and having a clamp hole 441. 
The first outer tube 5 is fitted over the inner tube 3 and is provided with 
a first through hole 51 located in the same side of the through hole 32 of 
the inner tube 3, a second through hole 52 located in the same side of the 
first through hole 51 of the first outer tube 5, and a locating hole 53. 
The second locating element 6 is provided with a second locating portion 
61, a third locating portion 62, and a spring 63 located between the 
second locating portion 61 and the third locating portion 62. The second 
locating element 6 is fitted into a buffer spring 64. The second locating 
element 6 is disposed in a fastening seat 65 such that the second locating 
element 6 is fastened with the first outer tube 5. 
The second outer tube 7 is fitted over the first outer tube 5 and is 
provided with a locating hole 71 located in the same side of the second 
locating portion 61 of the second locating element 6, and a fastening hole 
72 located in the same side of the third locating portion 62 of the second 
locating element 6. 
In combination, the fastening body 31 of the inner tube 3 is fastened with 
the bottom end of the handle 1. The first locating element 4 is disposed 
in the inner tube 3 such that the first locating portion 41 of the first 
locating element 4 is jutted out of the through hole 32 of the inner tube 
3, and that the first locating portion 41 of the first locating element 4 
is retained in the first through hole 51 of the first outer tube 5 which 
is fitted over the inner tube 3. As a result, the inner tube 3 is secured 
with the first outer tube 5. The first outer tube 5 is fastened at the 
bottom end thereof with the fastening seat 65 of the second locating 
element 6 such that the second locating portion 61 of the second locating 
element 6 is jutted out of the locating hole 53 of the first outer tube 5. 
In light of the second outer tube 7 being fitted over the first outer tube 
5, the second locating portion 61 is retained in the locating hole 71 of 
the second outer tube 7. The first outer tube 5 and the second outer tube 
7 are thus joined together securely. 
FIG. 4 shows the expandable pull rod of the present invention when it is 
half-way retracted, i.e., only the inner tube 3 is received into the first 
outer tube 5. FIG. 5 shows the expandable pull rod of the present 
invention when it is fully retracted, i.e., the first outer tube 5 is 
further received into the second outer tube 7. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the expandable pull rod of the present invention is 
retracted by first pressing the press portion 212 of the grip 11 of the 
handle 1, so as to activate the pull cord 43 to actuate the L-shaped body 
42, thereby resulting in the withdrawal of the first locating portion 41. 
As a result, the first outer tube 5 is relieved of the retaining force of 
the first locating portion 41. The inner tube 3 is therefore retracted 
into the first outer tube 5 by virtue of its own weight such that the 
first locating portion 41 of the first locating element 4 is retained in 
the second through hole 52 of the first outer tube 5. The inner tube 3 is 
thus securely located in the first outer tube 5 such that the clamp hole 
441 of the retaining portion 44 of the first locating element 4 retains 
securely the second locating portion 61 of the second locating element 6. 
In light of the bottom of the retaining portion 44 being of an inclined 
and arcuate construction, the second locating portion 61 is so pressed by 
the retaining portion 44 that the buffer spring 64 and the spring 63 are 
compressed to bring about the disengagement of the second locating portion 
61 with the second outer tube 7. The first outer tube 5 is thus retracted 
into the second outer tube 7 by virtue of its own weight. Now referring to 
FIG. 5, the spring 63 located between the second locating portion 61 and 
the third locating portion 62 of the second locating element 6 is 
compressed. For this reason, when the first outer tube 5 is retracted into 
the second outer tube 7, the third locating portion 62 of the second 
locating element 6 is forced out by the elastic force of the compressed 
spring 63 such that the third locating portion 62 is retained in the 
fastening hole 72 of the second outer tube 7. As a result, the first outer 
tube 5 is securely located in the second outer tube 7. In reverse, the 
first outer tube 5 can be extracted from the second outer tube 7 such that 
the first outer tube 5 is located to give an added length to the 
expandable pull rod of the present invention. 
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the overall length of the expandable pull rod of 
the present invention is formed of the inner tube 3, the first outer tube 
5 and the second outer tube 7. When the expandable pull rod of the present 
invention is fully retracted, the overall length of the expandable pull 
rod of the present invention is equal to the length of the second outer 
tube 7 in view of the fact that the inner tube 3 is fully retracted into 
the first outer tube 5 and that the first outer tube 5 is then fully 
retracted into the second outer tube 7. 
As shown in FIG. 8, the expandable pull rod of the present invention 
further comprises a plurality of third outer tubes 8 disposed between the 
inner tube 3 and the first outer tube 5 such that the third outer tubes 8 
are fastened at the bottom end thereof with the fastening seat 65 of the 
second locating element 6. The fastening seat 65 is provided at the bottom 
thereof with a retaining portion 66 which is in turn provided with a clamp 
hole 661. The third outer tubes 8 are provided with a through hole 81 and 
a locating hole 82, which are located in the same side of the locating 
hole 71 of the second outer tube 7. Now referring to FIG. 9, the inner 
tube 5 and the third outer tube 8 are retained by the first locating 
portion 41 of the first locating element 4 which is fastened with the 
bottom end of the inner tube 3. In the meantime, the third outer tube 8 
and the first outer tube 5 are retained by the second locating portion 61 
of the second locating element 6. As shown in FIG. 10, the expandable pull 
rod of the present invention is retracted by activating the L-shaped body 
42 of the inner tube 3 so as to actuate the first locating portion 41 to 
disengage the third outer tube 8, thereby enabling the inner tube 3 to be 
retracted into the third outer tube 8. In the meantime, the second 
locating portion 61 which is located in the third outer tube 8 is pressed 
by the retaining portion 44 so as to cause the second locating portion 61 
to disengage the first outer tube 5, thereby enabling the third outer tube 
8 to be retracted into the first outer tube 5. 
The embodiments of the present invention described above are to be regarded 
in all respects as being merely illustrative and not restrictive. 
Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms 
without deviating from the spirit thereof. The present invention is 
therefore to be limited only by the scopes of the following appended 
claims.