Patent ID: 8132289

Claim:
A locking device for a telescoping pole for use with a retractable handle system, the telescoping pole having at least one moveable section slideably mounted in a guide member having at least one opening, said locking device comprising: a body fixed to the movable section; a locking member carried by said body, said locking member being movable relative to said body between a locking position, in which said locking member engages the opening to lock the movable section in position relative to the guide member, and an unlocking position, in which said locking member is disengaged from the opening to permit the movable section to be displaced relative to the guide member; restoring means coupled to said locking member for urging said locking member into the locking position when said locking member is opposite the opening; a rotatable lever carried by said body and pivotable between a release position, in which relative movement is permitted between the movable section and the guide member, and a blocking position, in which said rotatable lever comes to bear on the guide member and exerts a force assuring a transverse immobilization of the moveable section in the guide member, wherein said rotatable lever is coupled to said locking member to be displaced toward the blocking position when said locking member is engaged in the opening under the force produced by said restoring means.