Title:

Handle grip with pad

United States Patent Application 20020124352

Kind Code:

A1

Abstract:

A handle grip for luggage comprises a padding member of elastomeric material having a bottom recess; a hose member of fabric having a central hollow section, two end sections, and two apertures on each end section; a sleeve-like gripping member having a bore; two fastening mechanisms each including a bottom cavity with one of the end sections received therein and a plurality of holes; wherein a plurality of fasteners are driven through the holes, each end section, and the luggage to secure each fastening mechanism with the hose member to the luggage; and two caps many further clung onto the fastening mechanisms. A cushion provided by padding member and a compressible space between recess of padding member and hose member is carried out when the hand grips the handle grip for bringing a degree of comfort to the hand.

Inventors:

Lin, Jer Hong (Taipei, TW)
Lau, Boon Hwa (Hsin Chuang City, TW)

Application Number:

09/921577

Publication Date:

09/12/2002

Filing Date:

08/06/2001

Export Citation:

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Assignee:

Chaw Khong Technology Co., Ltd.

Primary Class:

16/410

International Classes:

A45C13/26; (IPC1-7): A45C13/26

View Patent Images:

Download PDF 20020124352

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Primary Examiner:

PEZZUTO, ROBERT ERIC

Attorney, Agent or Firm:

Dougerty & Troxell (FALLS CHURCH, VA, US)

Claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A handle grip for luggage comprising: a padding member of elastomeric material having a bottom recess; a hose member of fabric having a central hollow section, two end sections, and two apertures on each of the two end sections; a sleeve-like gripping member having a bore; and two fastening mechanisms each including a bottom cavity with one of said end sections of the hose member received therein and two through holes on the central portion thereof wherein two of fasteners are driven through said holes, said apertures on each of the two end sections, and said luggage to secure each fastening mechanism with said hose member to said luggage.

2. The handle grip of claim 1, wherein each fastening mechanism further comprises a pair of guide grooves on both sides and a cap having a pair of rails clung to said guide grooves for securing said cap to each fastening mechanism.

3. The handle grip of claim 1, wherein each fastening mechanism further comprises a slot and each cap further comprises a tab inserted into said slot for securing said cap to each fastening mechanism.

4. The handle grip of claim 1, wherein said gripping member further comprises a plurality of parallel slits on a top thereof for increasing flexibility.

5. The handle grip of claim 1, wherein each fastener is a rivet.

6. The handle grip of claim 1, wherein each fastener is a bolt and nut combination.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to handle grip of luggage and more particularly to a handle grip with pad for bringing a degree of comfort to user while carrying luggage.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A conventional handle grip for luggage is formed of hard material in order to provide a sufficient structural strength while carrying luggage. Thus, the degree of comfort felt by user while carrying luggage is little due to the nature of hard material. An improvement is to provide a pad on the handle grip. However, the degree of comfort felt by user while carrying luggage is still little by the provision of such pad except that the thickness of pad is sufficiently large. Further, such improvement is unsightly. Another improved handle grip is formed of strap. The design purpose thereof is to bring a degree of comfort to user while carrying luggage. In practice, however, the effect is adverse because a painful trace may be formed on the hand while carrying luggage. Furthermore, such improvement is still unsightly. Thus, it is desirable to provide a novel and improved handle grip with padding arrangement in order to overcome the above drawbacks of prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle grip for luggage comprising an elastomeric padding member having a recess in the bottom, a hose member with padding member received therein, a gripping member with padding member and hose member inserted through, a pair of fastening mechanisms. By this arrangement, a cushion provided by padding member and a compressible space between recess of padding member and hose member is carried out when the hand grips the handle grip. As a result, user may feel a degree of comfort while carrying luggage. Moreover, the appearance of luggage is still preserved.

[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle grip for luggage wherein the gripping member is a sleeve-like element having a predetermined structural strength. Hence, the advantageous cushion in carrying luggage is obtained without detracting the appearance of luggage.

[0007] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a handle grip for luggage which further comprises a plurality of parallel slits on the top surface of gripping member for increasing the flexibility thereof.

[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a handle grip for luggage wherein fastening mechanism includes a cavity on the underside, two holes, two guide grooves on both sides, and a slot between one ends of guide grooves; and cap includes two rails and a tab. In assembly, insert end section of hose member into cavity of fastening mechanism and secure fastening mechanism to hose member by driving fasteners through holes, end section, and top of luggage. Finally, cling rails into guide grooves and tab into slot respectively for securing cap onto fastening mechanism.

[0009] To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a handle grip for luggage comprising a padding member of elastomeric material having a bottom recess; a hose member of fabric having a central hollow section, two end sections, and two apertures on each end section; a sleeve-like gripping member having a bore; and two fastening mechanisms each including a bottom cavity with one of the end sections received therein and a plurality of holes wherein a plurality of fasteners are driven through the holes, each end section, and the luggage to secure each fastening mechanism with the hose member to the luggage piece.

[0010] 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

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of handle grip according to the invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of FIG. 1;

[0013] FIG. 2A is a fragmentary perspective view of inverted cap of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A—A of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B—B of FIG. 1; and

[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of handle grip of FIG. 1 mounted on a wheeled luggage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a handle grip in accordance with the invention. The handle grip comprises a padding member 10 formed of elastomeric material and having a recess 12 in the bottom; a hose member 20 formed of fabric and having a hollow section 21 in the center, two end sections 22 and 22′, and two apertures 24 and 24′ on either end section 22 or 22′; a sleeve-like gripping member 30 with a predetermined structural strength and having a bore 31; two fastening mechanisms 40 and 40′ wherein fastening mechanism 40 includes a cavity 41 on the underside, two holes 42, two guide grooves 44 and 45 on both sides, and a slot 46 between one ends of guide grooves 44 and 45 (note that fastening mechanism 40′ is a mirror image of fastening mechanism 40 thus a description of fastening mechanism 40 serves to describe both); and two caps 50 and 50′ wherein cap 50 includes two rails 52 and 54 and a tab 56 all disposed corresponding to the mating elements of fastening mechanism 40 (note that cap 50′ is a mirror image of cap 50 thus a description of cap 50 serves to describe both).

[0018] The assembly of the handle grip will now be described. First, insert padding member 10 into hollow section 21 of hose member 20. Then insert padding member 10 together with hose member 20 through bore 31 of gripping member 30 with lifting portion (i.e., central portion) of hose member 20 substantially enclosed by gripping member 30. Insert end section 22 into cavity 41 of fastening mechanism 40 and secure fastening mechanism 40 to end section 22 (i.e., hose member 20) by driving rivets 43 (or bolt and nut combinations in any other embodiment) through holes 42, apertures 24 and top of luggage. Note that the securing procedure of end section 22′ and fastening mechanism 40′ is the same as above. Thus, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein for the sake of brevity. Finally, cling rails 52 and 54 are inserted into guide grooves 44 and 45 and tab 56 into slot 46, respectively for securing cap 50 onto fastening mechanism 40. The securing of cap 50′ onto fastening mechanism 40′ may be similarly performed.

[0019] The advantage of the present handle grip will now be described with reference to FIG. 3. As shown, hose member 20 is shaped by padding member 10. Further, hose member 20 and padding member 10 are received in bore 31 of gripping member 30. Hence, a compressible space is formed between recess 12 of padding member 10 and hose member 20 to serve as an elastic means. Since as stated above, the padding member 10 is elastic in nature, thus a cushion provided by padding member 10 and the compressible space is carried out when the hand grips the handle grip. As a result, user may feel a degree of comfort while carrying luggage. In another configuration, a plurality of parallel slits 32 may be additionally formed on the top surface of gripping member 30. The provision of slits 32 may increase the flexibility of gripping member 30, thus further increasing the degree of comfort while carrying luggage.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown handle grip mounted on a wheeled luggage 70. The appearance of luggage is still preserved in additional to above advantageous cushion effect.

[0021] 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.

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