Patent Abstract:
Provided is a retractable luggage handle in which either tube assembly thereof comprises one or more stop sleeves each secured to a top of its tube by snapping latches of the stop sleeve into apertures of the tube. A plurality of recesses are formed on either side wall of each tube and each stop sleeve by punching for adding structural strength thereto.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to handle of wheeled luggage and more particularly to a retractable handle with its tubes having added strength in construction.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     A conventional U-shaped retractable handle  70  mounted on top of a wheeled luggage is shown in  FIG. 1 . The handle  70  comprises, at its either side, a support tube  80  and a sliding tube slidably received in the support tube  80 . A stop sleeve  81  is provided on top of the support tube  80  for preventing the sliding tube from disengaging from the support tube  80  while extending the handle  70 .  
         [0005]     Currently, thickness of the handle tube is reduced to a range of 0.4 mm to 0.45 mm for saving the manufacturing cost and decreasing weight of the luggage. However, the handle  70  may vibrate strongly when a piece of luggage fully packed with bulky items is being towed on an uneven surface or towed on a stepped floor up and down operation (see arrow in  FIG. 1 ). This may easily deform the handle tubes or cause a separation of the stop sleeve  81  from the support tube  80 . Hence, a need for improvement exists.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle system mounted on a wheeled luggage, the handle system including two tube assemblies of rectangular section at both sides and a handle grip interconnected the tube assemblies, either tube assembly comprising a support tube having its bottom end fixedly coupled to a bottom of luggage, the support tube including, at either side wall of an upper portion thereof, a first recess and a plurality of first apertures longitudinally disposed below the first recess; a first stop sleeve including a first flange provided on its top mouth, the first flange being adapted to rest on a top of the support tube, the first stop sleeve further including, at its either side wall, a second recess proximate the first flange and a plurality of first latches disposed below the second recess, the first latches being disposed in the first apertures for securing the first stop sleeve to the support tube; and a sliding tube sub-assembly adapted to insert through the first stop sleeve into the support tube, the sliding tube sub-assembly including, at its either side wall, a recessed portion proximate its bottom mouth, wherein each of the recesses or the recessed portion is formed by punching for adding structural strength to the first stop sleeve, the support tube, or the sliding tube sub-assembly.  
         [0007]     In one aspect of the present invention, the support tube further comprises an internal first locking device, and the sliding tube sub-assembly further comprises an outer sliding tube adapted to insert through the first stop sleeve into the support tube to be coupled to and to be locked by the first locking device, the outer sliding tube including, at its either side wall, a third recess proximate its top mouth, a plurality of second apertures longitudinally disposed below the third recess, a fourth recess proximate its bottom mouth, and an internal second locking device; a second stop sleeve including a second flange provided on its top mouth, the second flange being adapted to rest on a top of the outer sliding tube, the second stop sleeve further including, at its either side wall, a fifth recess proximate the second flange and a plurality of second latches disposed below the fifth recess; and an inner sliding tube adapted to insert through the second stop sleeve into the outer sliding tube to be coupled to and to be locked by the second locking device, the inner sliding tube including, at its either side wall, a sixth recess, wherein each of the recesses is formed by punching for adding structural strength to the second stop sleeve, the inner sliding tube, or the outer sliding tube.  
         [0008]     In another aspect of the present invention, a rectangular third flange is provided on a top mouth of the support tube for permitting the first flange to rest thereon, and a rectangular fourth flange is provided on the top mouth of the outer sliding tube for permitting the second flange to rest thereon.  
         [0009]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional luggage handle;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of luggage handle according to the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of components at either side of the handle of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the assembled components of  FIG. 3  where two portions are enlarged for depicting their details; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of either side of luggage handle according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention where two portions are enlarged for depicting their details. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]     Referring to  FIGS. 2, 3 , and  4 , there is shown a U-shaped retractable handle constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention. The handle comprises two identical tube assemblies at both sides and an inverted U-shaped handle grip  60  interconnected the tube assemblies. Either tube assembly of rectangular section comprising a lower support tube  10 , an outer sliding tube  30 , an inner sliding tube  50 , and other associated components will be described in detailed below.  
         [0016]     The support tube  10  has its bottom end fixedly coupled to a bottom of luggage. Also, either side wall of an upper portion of the support tube  10  is provided with a transverse first recess  12  proximate the mouth of a longitudinal channel  11  of the support tube  10  and two first apertures  13  longitudinally disposed below the first recess  12 . A first locking device  300  is provided in the support tube  10 . As locking device is a well known component in luggage handle, it will not be described in detail.  
         [0017]     A first stop sleeve  20  is shaped to fit within an upper portion of the support tube  10  and comprises a longitudinal channel  21  and a rectangular first flange  22  provided on the top mouth of the channel  21 , the first flange  22  being adapted to rest on the mouth of the channel  11  so as to position the first stop sleeve  20  in the support tube  10 . Also, either side wall of the first stop sleeve  20  is provided with a longitudinal second recess  23  proximate the first flange  22  and intermediate and lower first latches  24  disposed below the second recess  23 .  
         [0018]     The outer sliding tube  30  is adapted to insert into the channels  21  and  11  to be coupled to and to be locked by the first locking device  300  when the outer sliding tube  30  is retracted or extended to a desired position in the support tube  10 . Also, either side wall of an upper portion of the outer sliding tube  30  is provided with a transverse third recess  32  proximate the mouth of a longitudinal channel  31  of the outer sliding tube  30 , and two second apertures  34  longitudinally disposed below the third recess  32 . Moreover, either side wall of a lower portion of the outer sliding tube  30  is provided with a longitudinal fourth recess  33 . A second locking device  400  is provided in the outer sliding tube  30 . Again, as locking device is a well known component in luggage handle, it will not be described in detail.  
         [0019]     A second stop sleeve  40  is shaped to fit within an upper portion of the outer sliding tube  30  and comprises a longitudinal channel  41  and a rectangular second flange  42  provided on the top mouth of the channel  41 , the second flange  42  being adapted to rest on the mouth of the channel  31  so as to position the second stop sleeve  40  in the outer sliding tube  30 . Also, either side wall of the second stop sleeve  40  is provided with a longitudinal fifth recess  43  proximate the second flange  42  and intermediate and lower second latches  44  disposed below the fifth recess  43 .  
         [0020]     Either side wall of a lower portion of the inner sliding tube  50  is provided with a longitudinal sixth recess  53 . The inner sliding tube  50  is adapted to insert into the channels  41  and  31  to be coupled to and to be locked by the second locking device  400  when the inner sliding tube  50  is retracted or extended to a desired position in the outer sliding tube  30 .  
         [0021]     As shown in  FIG. 4  specifically, in an assembled position of either tube assembly of the handle the first latches  24  are disposed in the first apertures  13  and the second latches  44  are disposed in the second apertures  34  respectively. As a result, the first and second stop sleeves  20  and  40  are secured to upper portions of the support tube  10  and the outer sliding tube  30  respectively. Moreover, each recess is formed by punching for adding structural strength to the stop sleeve or the tube having a thin thickness at a range of 0.4 mm to 0.45 mm. As an end, the handle may not vibrate strongly when the luggage fully packed with bulky items is being towed on an uneven surface or the like. That is, the handle does not tend to deform and is thus durable, reliable.  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a second preferred embodiment of the invention. The second preferred embodiment substantially has same structure as the first preferred embodiment. The differences between the first and the second preferred embodiments, i.e., the characteristics of the second preferred embodiment are detailed below. A rectangular third flange  15  is provided on the top mouth of the support tube  10 . The top mouth (i.e., flange)  22  of the first stop sleeve  20  is adapted to rest on the third flange  15 . Also, a rectangular fourth flange  35  is provided on the top mouth of the outer sliding tube  30 . The top mouth (i.e., flange)  42  of the second stop sleeve  40  is adapted to rest on the fourth flange  35 . This can enhance the securement of the first and second stop sleeves  20  and  40  to the upper portions of the support tube  10  and the outer sliding tube  30  respectively.  
         [0023]     While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8