Pivotable towing arrangement
View Patent ↗A towing arrangement includes a pivotal handle which allows a user to position the handle more comfortably that would otherwise be possible with a conventional towing arrangement. The relative motion of the handle can also increase the maneuverability of a piece of luggage by eliminating the need for a person to reposition his or her hand on the handle when attempting to redirect the piece of luggage.
1. A piece of towable luggage comprising:
a piece of luggage;
a tubular member retractably mounted to the piece of luggage, the tubular member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the piece of luggage, the tubular member including an internal volume;
a handle which includes a passageway, the handle being pivotally connected to the tubular member at the second end;
a joint lock member pivotally connecting the handle to the tubular member; and
a first member external and spaced from the joint lock member and in communication with the passageway of the handle, the first member including at least one first member protrusion, the at least one first member protrusion having a first position disposed in the passageway of the handle and not disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member, and a second position wherein at least a portion of the at least one first member protrusion is disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member, wherein the first member and the at least one first member protrusion form a unitary structure.
2. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 wherein the at least one first member protrusion is a pair of member protrusions communicating with the internal volume.
3. The piece of towable luggage of claim 2 further comprising a second member, the second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including a pair of second member protrusions being aligned with the at least one first member protrusion and, when so aligned, being at least partially displaced along their axes by at least partial displacement of the at least one first member protrusion.
4. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is substantially symmetrical about a plane including the axis of the joint lock member and the cross section of the tubular member orthogonal to the axis of the joint lock member is not circular.
5. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 further comprising a button in the handle in communication with the first member such that depressing the button at least partially displaces the first member such that a portion of the at least one first member protrusion extends into the internal volume of the tubular member.
6. The piece of towable luggage of claim 5 wherein the at least one first member protrusion communicates with the internal volume, and the towable luggage further comprises a second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including a pair of second member protrusions being aligned with the at least one first member protrusion and, when at least one of the second member protrusions is so aligned, being at least partially displaced along their axes by at least partial displacement of the at least one first member protrusion.
7. The piece of towable luggage of claim 6 wherein only when the at least one first member protrusion is aligned with at least one of the second member protrusions, depressing the button in the handle at least partially displaces the first member towards the tubular member sufficient for a portion of the at least one first member protrusion to extend into the internal volume of the tubular member.
8. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is a single-pole tubular member.
9. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 further comprising a set of wheels rotatably mounted to the piece of luggage.
10. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 wherein the tubular member has a generally oval cross-section.
11. The piece of towable luggage of claim 1 , further comprising:
the tubular member having an axis of elongation;
the handle being mounted at the second end of the tubular member for rotation relative thereto about the axis of elongation, the rotation occurring along a dividing line between a handgrip base portion and an axially adjacent portion of the tubular member; and
a collar slidably mounted on the handle in surrounding relation thereto for movement in the direction of the axis of elongation between a first axial position, at which the collar is located on the handle side of the dividing line and permits rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member, and a second axial position, at which the collar axially overlies the dividing line and prevents rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member.
12. A towing arrangement for luggage comprising:
a tubular member retractably mounted to a piece of luggage, the tubular member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the piece of luggage, the tubular member including an internal volume;
a handle which includes a passageway, the handle being pivotally connected to the tubular member at the second end;
a joint lock member pivotally connecting the handle to the tubular member; and
a first member external to the joint lock member and in communication with the passageway of the handle, the first member including at least one first member protrusion, the at least one first member protrusion having a first position disposed in the passageway of the handle and not disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member, and a second position wherein at least a portion of the at least one first member protrusion is disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member.
13. The towing arrangement of claim 12 wherein the first member comprises a pair of first member protrusions communicating with the internal volume.
14. The towing arrangement of claim 13 further comprising a second member, the second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including a pair of second member protrusions capable of being aligned with the pair of first member protrusions and, when so aligned, capable of being at least partially displaced along their axes by at least partial displacement of the pair of first member protrusions.
15. The towing arrangement of claim 14 wherein the tubular member has a generally oval cross-section.
16. The towing arrangement of claim 14 wherein the tubular member is substantially symmetrical about a plane including the axis of the joint lock member and the cross-section of the tubular member orthogonal to the axis of the joint lock member is not circular.
17. The towing arrangement of claim 1 further comprising a button in the handle in communication with the first member such that depressing the button at least partially displaces the first member such that a portion of the at least one first member protrusion extends into the internal volume of the tubular member.
18. The towing arrangement of claim 17 wherein the at least one first member protrusion communicates with the internal volume, and the towing arrangement further comprises a second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including a pair of second member protrusions being aligned with the at least one first member protrusion and, when at least one of the pair of second member protrusions is so aligned, being at least partially displaced along their axes by at least partial displacement of the at least one first member protrusion.
19. The towing arrangement of claim 18 wherein only when the at least one first member protrusion is aligned with at least one of the second member protrusions, depressing the button in the handle at least partially displaces the first member towards the tubular member sufficient for a portion of the at least one first member protrusion to extend into the internal volume of the tubular member.
20. The towing arrangement of claim 19 wherein the tubular member is a single-pole tubular member.
21. The towing arrangement of claim 1 further comprising a set of wheels rotatably mounted on the piece of luggage.
22. The towing arrangement of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is a single-pole tubular member.
23. The towing arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising:
the tubular member having an axis of elongation;
the handle being mounted at the second end of the tubular member for rotation relative thereto about the axis of elongation, the rotation occurring along a dividing line between a handgrip base portion and an axially adjacent portion of the tubular member; and
a collar slidably mounted on the handle in surrounding relation thereto for movement in the direction of the of-axis of elongation between a first axial position, at which the collar is located on the handle side of the dividing line and permits rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member, and a second axial position, at which the collar axially overlies the dividing line and prevents rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member.
24. A towing arrangement for luggage comprising:
a tubular member retractably mounted to a piece of luggage, the tubular member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the piece of luggage, the tubular member including an internal volume;
a handle which includes a passageway, the handle being pivotally connected to the tubular member at the second end;
a joint lock member pivotally connecting the handle to the tubular member; and
a first member external to the joint lock member and in communication with the passageway of the handle, the first member including at least one first member protrusion, the at least one first member protrusion having a first position disposed in the passageway of the handle, and a second position wherein at least a portion of the at least one first member protrusion is disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member,
wherein the first member comprises a pair of first member protrusions communicating with the internal volume,
wherein the pair of first member protrusions are in line with and on opposite sides of the joint lock member.
25. A towing arrangement for luggage comprising:
a tubular member retractably mounted to a piece of luggage, the tubular member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the piece of luggage, the tubular member including an internal volume;
a handle which includes a passageway, the handle being pivotally connected to the tubular member at the second end;
a joint lock member pivotally connecting the handle to the tubular member; and
a first member in communication with the passageway of the handle, wherein the first member comprises at least one first member protrusion, the at least one first member protrusion having a first position disposed in the passageway of the handle and not disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member, and a second position wherein at least a portion of the at least one first member protrusion is disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member; and
a second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including at least one second member protrusion adapted to align with the at least one first member protrusion.
26. The towing arrangement of claim 25 wherein the first member comprises a pair of first member protrusions communicating with the internal volume.
27. The towing arrangement of claim 25 wherein the second member resides in the internal volume of the tubular member and includes a pair of second member protrusions being aligned with the at least one first member protrusion and being at least partially displaced along their axes by the at least one first member protrusion.
28. The towing arrangement of claim 27 further comprising a button in the handle in communication with the first member such that depressing the button at least partially displaces the first member such that a portion of the at least one first member protrusion extends into the internal volume of the tubular member.
29. The towing arrangement of claim 25 wherein the tubular member has a generally oval cross-section.
30. The towing arrangement of claim 25 wherein the tubular member is substantially symmetrical about a plane including the axis of the joint locking member.
31. The towing arrangement of claim 25 further comprising a set of wheels rotatably mounted on the piece of luggage.
32. The towing arrangement of claim 25 wherein the tubular member is a single-pole tubular member.
33. The towing arrangement of claim 25 , further comprising:
the tubular member having an axis of elongation;
the handle being mounted at the second end of the tubular member for rotation relative thereto about the axis of elongation, the rotation occurring along a dividing line between a handgrip base portion and an axially adjacent portion of the tubular member; and
a collar slidably mounted on the handle in surrounding relation thereto for movement in the direction of the of-axis of elongation between a first axial position, at which the collar is located on the handle side of the dividing line and permits rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member, and a second axial position, at which the collar axially overlies the dividing line and prevents rotation of the handle relative to the tubular member.
34. A towing arrangement for luggage comprising:
a tubular member retractably mounted to a piece of luggage, the tubular member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the piece of luggage, the tubular member including an internal volume;
a handle which includes a passageway, the handle being pivotally connected to the tubular member at the second end;
a joint lock member pivotally connecting the handle to the tubular member; and a first member in communication with the passageway of the handle, wherein the first member comprises at least one first member protrusion, the at least one first member protrusion having a first position disposed in the passageway of the handle, and a second position wherein at least a portion of the at least one first member protrusion is disposed in the internal volume of the tubular member; and
a second member residing in the internal volume of the tubular member and including at least one second member protrusion adapted to align with the at least one first member protrusion,
wherein the first member comprises a pair of first member protrusions communicating with the internal volume,
wherein the pair of first member protrusions are in line with and on opposite sides of the joint lock member.