Soft-feel handle and method of making same

An improved soft-feel handle construction including first and second parts each part including a flexible thermoplastic sheath wrapped around a cushioning member. One of the parts includes a thin, flat elongated conductive member positioned between the thermoplastic sheath and the cushion. The first and second handle parts are dielectrically sealed together with each handle part covering the seal so that the seal is formed interiorly of the handle.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to a handle for automobiles, luggage, 
carrying cases and the like. More specifically, the present invention is 
directed to an improved soft-feel handle and a method of making a 
soft-feel handle which has an internal metallic stiffener, so that the 
handle may be secured to brackets and with cushioning material on both 
sides of the metal. 
Soft-feel handles are known as described generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
3,736,621, 3,758,360, and 3,892,615. The soft-feel handles disclosed in 
each of these prior patents include a metallic central member, for 
attaching to brackets or the like, cushioning members on each side of the 
metallic member, and a thermoplastic sheath surrounding the combination of 
the cushioning members and metal strip. The thermoplastic sheath is 
dielectrically sealed to complete the assembly. 
Two problems have arisen with respect to the prior art handles and methods 
of making them. First, in the use of dielectric sealing, it is common to 
utilize a conductive foil inside the handle adjacent the edges of the 
thermoplastic sheath which are to be sealed together. 
During the dielectric sealing step, current flows through the conductive 
foil to complete the circuit between the die or electrode of the sealing 
apparatus and the bed of the sealing apparatus. The conductive foil 
remains inside the finished handle thus increasing the cost of these 
handles. 
A second problem with the prior art handles is one of aesthetics. It is 
undesirable to have the seal exposed to view and it is also undesirable to 
have the seal on the underside of the handle where it can be detected by 
the fingers or hand when the handle is gripped. 
Thus the present invention overcomes both of these disadvantages by 
providing a soft-feel handle where the seals are hidden from view and 
cushioned by the soft-feel handle itself and where the conductive foil has 
been eliminated. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an improved soft-feel handle and method of 
making the same. The handle is made of two component parts, a first part 
having a cushioning member wrapped in a thermoplastic sheath and a second 
part having both a cushioning member and a metallic strip which, together, 
are wrapped in a thermoplastic sheath. 
The two parts are dielectrically sealed together with the seal of the first 
part and the seal of the second part adjacent each other and interiorly of 
the entire handle construction so that the dielectric seals are both 
hidden from view and cushioned from the hand of the user. 
According to the method of the present invention, the first and second 
parts are each partially made and then positioned adjacent each other for 
the dielectric sealing operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
With reference to the drawings, an improved soft-feel handle 10 according 
to the principles of the present invention is illustrated including a 
first part 12 and a second part 14 joined together and mounted in brackets 
or hardware 16 as is conventional. The brackets or hardware 16 may be 
attached to the interior of an automobile, if the handle 10 is used as a 
passenger assist, or may be suitably secured to luggage or the like, also 
as is conventional. 
The first part 12 of the handle includes a thin, flat elongated metallic 
conductive strip or core 20 positioned on one side of an elongated 
cushioning member 22. The core and cushion are surrounded by a 
thermoplastic sheath 24 having first and second longitudinal edges 26,28 
positioned on the metallic core. 
In practice, the core may be a flat spring steel bar generally 0.025 inch 
thick and the cushioning member may be generally 0.30 inch thick flexible 
resilient material such as foam polyurethane, polystyrene, polyester and 
rubber. The sheath 24 may be any suitable thermoplastic resin such as 
polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or the like. 
As part of the manufacturing process, the cushioning member 22 may be 
adhesively secured to both the thermoplastic sheath 24 and the metallic 
core 20. 
The second part 14 of the handle also includes a cushioning member 30 which 
is narrower than the cushioning member 22 but, of course, may be of the 
same material. A filler strip 32, which may be paper impregnated with 
rubber, cotton duck, leather or the like, is positioned on one side of the 
cushioning member 30. A second thermoplastic sheath 34 is wrapped around 
the combination of the cushioning member 30 and the filler 32 with the 
ends 36 and 38 of the thermoplastic sheath positioned adjacent the filler 
material 32. In both the first and second handle parts, the sheath 
material is approximately .025 inches thick. The cushioning member 30 in 
the second handle part 14 may also be adhesively secured to both the 
filler 32 and the sheath 34. 
The next step in the process is to dielectrically seal the ends of the 
thermoplastic sheath to provide a finished handle. To accomplish this a 
conventional dielectric machine 40 is utilized of the type having a fixed 
bed 42 and a vertically movable die 44. 
According to the principles of the present invention, the die 44 includes 
two downwardly projecting spaced apart electrodes 46. 
The first handle part 12 is placed in the well 48 of the bed 42 of the 
dielectric sealing machine and the second handle part 14 is placed above 
the first handle part so that the edges 26 and 28 of sheath 24 are 
positioned adjacent the edges 36 and 38 of the sheath 34. The electrodes 
are lowered into position and the machine turned on and current flows from 
the electrodes through the core 20 to dielectrically seal the sheath ends 
together. 
Thus it may be appreciated that the seals of the sheaths are hidden from 
view with all the seals internally of the finished handle construction, 
i.e., each handle part overlies the seals of the opposite handle part. 
In this fashion, not only are the seals hidden from view, but there are 
cushioning members on both sides of the seals, namely, cushioning members 
22 and 30 and therefore the seals are not felt by the hand with the handle 
is gripped. 
To facilitate attaching the handle to conventional brackets 16, two 
additional improvements are provided according to the principles of the 
present invention. 
First, the ends of the second part of the handle are chamfered as at 50 to 
provide a gentle taper. Second, the core or metal strip 20 is bent as at 
52 toward the direction of the chamfer. The core is apertured at each end 
as at 54, to receive a conventional fastener. The bracket 16 is 
illustrated in dashed lines in FIG. 3 for the purpose of illustrating the 
relative location of the parts. 
The foregoing is a complete description of the improved handle and method 
of making the improved handle according to the principles of the present 
invention. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit 
and scope of the present invention. The invention, therefore, should be 
limited only by the scope of the following claims.