Abstract:
A two-piece interlocking handle assembly which provides a rigid hand hold for a hose and coupling device received thereby, the handle assembly being particularly useful when coupling a glad hand operatively mounted to the hose and coupling device extending from a trailer of a semi-tractor to a glad hand operatively mounted to a mating air brake line extending from the semi-tractor. The handle assembly includes two opposing halves which are releasably connectable by slidably engaging projecting members of one half with associated slots of the other half. Resilient locking members mounted on one half engage the other half to securely connect the halves together.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to a handle for a hose and coupling device. More particularly, the invention relates to a handle for a hose and coupling device of a service or emergency air brake line extending from a semi-tractor or trailer.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Glad hands are known devices which connect service and emergency air brake lines of a semi-tractor to associated service and emergency air brake lines of a trailer. As generally known, to connect a glad hand operatively attached to an air hose extending from a semi-tractor to a glad hand operatively attached to an air hose extending from a trailer, the glad hands are first usually positioned at about a 90-degree angle relative to each other and rubber seals associated with each glad hand are pressed together. Thereafter, at least one of the glad hands is turned or rotated with respect to the other, so as to securely join and lock the glad hands together. A problem with this type of arrangement is that one or both of the air hoses may be used as a lever when coupling the glad hands together, thereby potentially causing premature failure of the associated air line hose.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem and other problems of the prior art by providing a handle assembly so that an air line hose itself does not have to be used as a lever when coupling glad hands together. The handle assembly of the present invention is a two-piece interlocking device which includes releasably connectable complimentary halves for accepting the outer diameter of a hose and at least a portion of a coupling device which is threadably secured to a hose fitting attached to a free end of the hose and which is also threadably secured to a glad hand. In one embodiment, the halves are connected together by slidably engaging at least one male member of one half with at least one mating female member of the other half. In a preferred embodiment, a resilient locking member releasably secures the halves together.  
           [0004]    Accordingly, the handle assembly of the present invention is easy to assemble and disassemble, is cost effective to manufacture and, at the same time, is of durable construction for effective operation.  
           [0005]    Another feature of the present invention is that the handle assembly can be easily removed and re-used on other hoses by simply unlocking and separating the halves.  
           [0006]    Yet another feature of the present invention is that the halves of the handle assembly are connectable without having to use independent fasteners, such as screws, which require the use of an additional tool, such as a screw driver. In the same vein, the halves of the handle assembly can be disconnected by hand, thereby eliminating the need for a separate mechanical disconnecting device. 
       
    
    
       [0007]    Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, in which like numerals are used to designate like features.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a handle assembly according to the present invention, wherein the handle assembly is secured to an air line hose and coupling device which is attached to a glad hand.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the handle assembly of FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view illustrating the relationship of the inner surfaces of the handle assembly and the outer surfaces of the air line hose and coupling device of FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is an exploded side elevational view of the handle assembly and the air line hose and coupling device of FIG. 3.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating the assembly of the handle assembly of FIG. 4 around the hose and coupling device of FIG. 4.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is an end view of one half of the handle assembly shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is an end view of the other half of the handle assembly shown in FIG. 3. 
     
    
       [0016]    Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a handle assembly  10  secured to a conventional air brake line  14  and coupling device  18  which in turn is secured to a conventional glad hand  22 , all of which are part of a semi-tractor/trailer air brake line assembly. With reference to FIG. 3, a hose fitting  26  is secured to the free end  30  of the hose  14 , and the coupling device  18  is threadably attached to the hose fitting  26 . The hose fitting  26  includes a nut  34  and the coupling device  18  includes a nut  38 , so that the coupling device  18  can be threadably and securely fastened to the hose fitting  26 . The handle assembly  10  provides a hand hold lever when connecting conventional glad hands of a semi-tractor/trailer combination. It should be understood that although the handle assembly  10  is shown and described in association with the hose  14  and coupling device  18  of a semi-tractor/trailer air brake line assembly, the handle assemble  10  is capable of use with other hose assemblies and/or hose and coupling device assemblies, and the hose  14  and coupling device  18  are merely shown and described as an example of one such assembly.  
         [0018]    Unless otherwise specified, reference is made to FIG. 2 in regards to the structural description of the handle assembly  10 . The handle assembly  10  is preferably made of an injected molded polypropylene plastic, but may be made of other suitable materials according to the principles of the present invention. The handle assembly  10  includes a first handle portion or half  42  and a second handle portion or half  46 . The first handle portion  42  includes a forward end  50  and a rearward end  54 , with a semicylindrical bore  58  extending therebetween, and the second handle portion  46  includes a forward end  62  and a rearward end  66 , with a semicylindrical bore  70  extending therebetween. The semicylindrical bores  58  and  70  cooperate to accept a portion of the hose  14  and coupling device  18  when the first and second handle portions  42  and  46  are interconnected together.  
         [0019]    The first handle portion  42  also includes substantially flat engagement surfaces  74  and  78  (see also FIG. 3) extending along opposite sides of the semicylindrical bore  58 , and the second handle portion  46  also includes substantially flat engagement surfaces  82  and  86  (FIG. 3) extending along opposite sides of the semicylindrical bore  70 . The engagement surfaces  74  and  78  respectively include recesses  90  (see also FIG. 4) and  94  extending from the rearward end  54 . Resilient locking members  98  and  102  are respectively positioned within recesses  90  and  94 . Preferably, the resilient locking members  98  and  102  are formed or molded as a part of the handle portion  42 . Alternatively, the resilient locking members  98  and  102  can be secured within recesses  90  and  94  by any suitable means, such as by using an appropriate industrial strength adhesive. The resilient locking members  98  and  102  are used to securely connect the first handle portion  42  to the second handle portion  46 .  
         [0020]    The first handle portion  42  further includes a plurality of L-shaped tab members  106 A-F (see also, e.g., FIG. 8) projecting from the engagement surfaces  74  and  78 . The engagement surface  82  of the second handle portion  46  includes undercut slot  110  (FIGS. 3 and 7) and undercut slot  114  (FIG. 3) for receiving the associated tab members  106 D-F, and the engagement surface  86  of the second handle portion  46  includes undercut slot  118  (FIGS. 3 and 7) and undercut slot  122  (FIG. 3) for receiving the associated tab members  106 A-C. The undercut slot  114  includes notches  126  and  130  (FIG. 3) for respectively receiving tab members  106 E-F and the undercut slot  122  includes notches  134  and  138  (FIG. 3) for respectively receiving tab members  106 B-C when the handle portion  42  first comes into contact with the handle portion  46 .  
         [0021]    The semicylindrical bore  58  of the first handle portion  42  includes a recess  142  (see also FIG. 3) adapted to receive a portion of the coupling device  18 , and the semicylindrical bore  70  of the second handle portion  46  includes a recess  146  (FIG. 3) adapted to receive an opposite portion of the coupling device  18 . The semicylindrical bores  58  and  70  further include additional opposing recesses  150  (see also FIG. 3) and  154  (FIG. 3), respectively, to receive an enlarged portion  158  (FIG. 3) of the hose fitting  26 . As shown in FIG. 3 and as will be further explained below, so that the first handle portion  42  is slidable along the second handle portion  46  when a portion of the coupling device  18  is received by the recesses  142  and  146 , recess  142  has a length which is greater than the length of the nut  38  and recess  146  has a length which is substantially equal to the nut  38 . Moreover, the recesses  150  and  154  are appropriately sized for receiving the portion  158  of the hose fitting  26  so as not to inhibit the slidable action between the first handle portion  42  and the second handle portion  46 .  
         [0022]    Having described the structural details of the handle assembly  10 , the method of mounting the handle assembly  10  around the hose  14  and coupling device  18  will now be more fully described with particular reference being made to FIGS.  3 - 5 , in conjunction with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as needed.  
         [0023]    The semicylindrical bore  70  of the second handle portion  46  receives the hose  14  and coupling device  18  such that recess  146  receives one half of nut  38  and recess  154  receives one half of the enlarged portion  158  of the hose fitting  26 . The first handle portion  42  is then placed into contact with the second handle portion  46  (see FIG. 5 illustratively showing the first handle portion  42  in phantom), such that the engagement surfaces  74  and  78  are in contact with the associated engagement surfaces  86  and  82 , the tab members  106 A and  106 D are positioned away from the associated slots  118  and  110  beyond the forward end  62  of the second handle portion  46 , and the notches  126 ,  130 ,  134  and  138  receive the associated tab members  106 E,  106 F,  106 B and  106 C.  
         [0024]    Thereafter, a force is applied to the first handle portion  42  in the direction of arrow  162  (FIG. 5) until the undercut slots  110 ,  114 ,  118  and  122  receive the associated tab members  106 A-F to connect the first handle portion  42  to the second handle portion  46  so that the first handle portion  42  cannot be separated from the second handle portion  46  by lifting the first handle portion  42  off of the second handle portion  46 , and until the resilient locking members  98  and  102  engage the rearward end  66  of the second handle portion  46  (see FIG. 5 illustrating the first and second handle portions  42  and  46  in solid lines). The oversized recesses  142  and  150  of the first handle portion  42  for the coupling device  18  and fitting  26 , respectively, allow the sliding action between the first handle portion  42  and the second handle portion  46  as just described.  
         [0025]    As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rearward end  66  of the second handle portion  46  includes a first cut-out  166  and a second cut-out (not shown) for respectively receiving the resilient locking members  98  and  102 . When the handle assembly  10  is completely assembled, the rearward ends  54  and  66  are generally co-planer, the forward ends  50  and  62  are generally co-planar, and an annular shoulder  170  (FIG. 5) is created by the semiannular shoulders  174  and  178  (FIG. 4) of the forward ends  50  and  62 , respectively, to create a stop wall to inhibit movement of a person&#39;s hand off of the handle assembly  10 .  
         [0026]    With reference to FIG. 5, the resilient locking members  98  and  102  prevent the first and second handle portions  42  and  46  from being slidably disengaged in one direction, and one end  182  (FIG. 3) of nut  38  abuts an end wall  186  (FIG. 5) defined by wall  190  (FIGS. 2 and 3) of recess  142  and wall  194  (FIG. 3) of recess  146  to prevent the first and second handle portions  42  and  46  from being slidably disengaged in the opposite direction.  
         [0027]    To disassemble the handle assembly  10 , the portion of each resilient locking member  98  (FIG. 5) and  102  extending beyond the rearward ends  54  and  66  are simply forced out of engagement with the second handle portion  46  and into the respective recesses  90  and  94 , so that a force can be applied to the first handle portion  42  in a direction opposite to arrow  162  until the tab members  106 A-F are freed from the associated undercut slots  110 ,  114 ,  118  and  122 , thereby allowing the first handle portion  42  to be disconnected from the second handle portion  46 .  
         [0028]    Variations and modifications of the foregoing are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein explain the best modes known for practicing the invention and will enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention. The claims are to be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.  
         [0029]    Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.