Carrying handle assembly

A one-piece removable carrying handle assembly (10) for removably attaching the handle assembly to an item to be carried. The carrying handle has a middle strap portion (18) with two end portions (14, 16). Each end portion (14, 16) includes a housing member (28, 24) that has a slot (44) adapted to receive attachment hardware. The attachment hardware includes a screw (30, 36) and a spacer (32, 38). A screw (30, 36) and a spacer (32, 38) fit through slots (22, 24) in the end portions (14, 16) of the assembly (10). Each housing (28) is designed to be positioned over a screw (30), spacer (32), and a slot (22) so that each end portion of the strap assembly (10) contains all separate parts and so that each end portion is lockingly attached to the middle strap portion to form a one-piece unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Carrying handles for heavy items which are designed to be removable are 
generally formed with a central strap portion and a group of attaching 
hardware for attaching both ends of the strap portion to the item to be 
carried. This group of attaching hardware usually includes a screw or the 
like in some sort of housing arrangement, the housing arrangement being 
provided to keep the screw or the like securely fastened to the strap 
portion and to the item to be carried. This involves loose small pieces to 
be set down and picked up during removal or insertion of the handle to the 
item to be carried so that a number of small pieces can easily be 
misplaced or lost. This type of carrying handle also presents the common 
problem of the strap being caught under the bushing during installation. 
It is also necessary that an installer learn the proper position and 
sequence of each individual part of the handle assembly for proper 
installation. The making of such handle assemblies is costly to the 
manufacturer and can be costly and inconvenient to the user who must 
replace lost parts or may have an improper installation. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to overcome problems inherent in the before described carrying 
handle assemblies, there has been provided by the present invention a new 
and novel carrying handle assembly which is a one piece strap member with 
installing hardware connected at both ends in a self-contained housing so 
that there are no loose pieces or problems with improper installation. 
It is therefore an object and advantage of the present invention to provide 
a carrying handle assembly in an integrated one-piece unit with no loose 
parts that may become lost or misplaced. 
Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a 
carrying handle assembly which is less costly to manufacture and more 
convenient and less costly to the user. 
Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is to reduce the 
occurrence of the strap being caught under the bushing during 
installation. 
Still another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a 
carrying handle assembly that is quicker and less complicated to install. 
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from a review 
of the drawings and from a study of the specification portion hereinafter 
describing the preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings in general, and in particular to FIG. 1 of 
the drawings, there is shown a perspective view of the present carrying 
handle assembly as it is used in the present example to carry an 
electronic instrument. Shown in FIG. 1 is the present carrying handle 
assembly shown generally by the numeral 10 as it would be attached to the 
side of an electronic instrument 12 and used to carry the electronic 
instrument. It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the carrying handle assembly 10 
generally comprises two end portions 14 and 16 and a middle portion 18 as 
will be described with greater detail with reference to the remaining 
Figures. 
Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings there is shown an exploded 
isometric view of the carrying handle assembly showing the composition of 
parts of the assembly. The middle portion 18 of the carrying handle 
assembly as shown in FIG. 1 includes an inner reinforcing strap 20, the 
inner reinforcing strap 20 having a slot 22, 24 positioned at each end 
thereof. When the carrying handle assembly 10 is assembled, the inner 
reinforcing strap 20 is positioned through the outer cover 26 and slots 22 
and 24 remain outside the ends of the outer cover 26. There are two end 
portions 14, 16 for the present carrying handle assembly. On one end 
portion 16 of the carrying handle assembly 10 is a housing member 28, and 
an attachment means which includes a screw member 30, and a spacer member 
32. On the opposite end portion 14 of the carrying handle assembly is a 
corresponding housing member 34, and attachment means including screw 
member 36, and spacer member 38. When the carrying handle assembly 10 is 
assembled, each screw member 30 and 36, and spacer members 32 and 38 are 
positioned through corresponding slots 22 and 24 and thus remain outside 
the end portions of the outer cover 26. In the preferred embodiment, the 
inner reinforcing strap 20 floats along the elongated slots 22 and 24 in 
the ends of the strap 20 thereby making the handle moveable. Each housing 
member 28 and 34 engages an associated attachment means as shown most 
clearly in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6. Each housing member thereby holds contained 
a number of loose parts such that it is required only that the user have a 
one-piece carrying handle assembly. The housing members 28 and 34 have 
corresponding holes 40 and 42 so that the screw members 30 and 36 may be 
accessed through the housing members 28 and 34 without removing the 
attachment means from the carrying handle assembly. 
Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a partial side elevation view of the 
housing member 28 for the attachment means of the present carrying handle 
assembly. In FIG. 3 it can be seen that the housing member 28 has a 
corresponding screw 30 locked into a predetermined position and adapted to 
be screwed into a correspondingly threaded hole in an electronic 
instrument or other item to be carried. It can be seen further in FIG. 3 
that the housing member 28 is adapted to be lockingly attached to the end 
of the outer cover 26. Also in FIG. 3, the attachment means in the form of 
the screw 30 and the spacer member 32, is contained within the housing 
member 28 with the threaded end of the screw member 30 being locked in a 
predetermined position so as to be easily attached to the item to be 
carried. 
In FIG. 5 there is shown a cross-sectional view taken through line 5--5 of 
FIG. 3 showing the inside of the housing member 28 and one of the 
attachment means of the present invention. In FIG. 5 it can be seen that 
the housing member 28 contains a hole 40 for access to the screw member 30 
through the top of the housing member. It should be noted that while there 
is access provided to screw member 30 the hole 40 is smaller than the head 
of the screw member 30 to prevent the screw member 30 from falling out of 
the top of the housing member 28. The spacer member 32 is positioned to 
secure screw member 30 into a predetermined position. 
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of housing member 28 and one of the attachment 
means of the carrying handle assembly showing how the attachment means 
fits into housing member 28 and the present invention. In FIG. 6 it can be 
seen that there is a receiving slot 44 adapted to receive the combination 
screw member 30 and spacer member 32, and the slot 44 is designed to lock 
the combination screw member 30 and spacer member 32 in a snap fit so that 
the screw member 30 and spacer member 32 will not fall out of the housing 
member 28. 
In FIG. 4 of the drawings there is shown a cross-sectional view taken 
through line 4--4 of FIG. 3 showing the inside of the middle portion 18 of 
the present carrying handle assembly. In FIG. 4 it can be seen that the 
inner reinforcing strap 20 is positioned through a hole 46 in the outer 
cover 26. Positioned forward of the hole 46 is hole 48 which extends the 
length of the outer cover 26. The purpose of the hole 48 is to provide 
uniform thickness to the outer cover 26 and to the carrying handle 
assembly 10. The outer cover 26 has two grooves 50 and 52 which extend the 
length of the outer surface of the outer cover 26. The grooves 50 and 52 
facilitate a non-slip grip of the carrying handle assembly. In the 
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holes 40 and 42 in the 
housing members 28 and 34 each are recessed and adapted to hold the screw 
members 30 and 36 recessed within the housing members 28 and 34. The 
recessed holes 40 and 42 serve to allow access to the screw members while 
preventing the screw members from moving out of the top of the housing 
member. Also, in the preferred embodiment the attachment means is 
contained within a housing member which is approximately one and one-half 
inches in length and one inch in width with the middle portion 18 of the 
carrying handle assembly being the same width of approximately one inch 
and approximately nineteen inches long. Further in the preferred 
embodiment, the carrying handle assembly is made from plastic snap-fit 
parts to provide a secure locked-together assembly, and the inner 
reinforcing strap is stainless steel. 
From the foregoing, it can be seen that applicants' invention provides a 
one-piece carrying handle assembly which contains the attachment hardware 
within the assembly thereby avoiding the loss of loose parts. The present 
carrying handle assembly also eliminates the necessity for detailed 
installation instruction and reduces the time and expense of manufacture 
and installation. 
It should be apparent after studying the drawings and reading the 
description of the preferred embodiment that various changes may be made 
in the arrangement of the parts and the positioning of the various 
elements. The applicant is not to be limited to the exact embodiment which 
has been given by way of illustration only.