GB2071584A - Luggage trolley - Google Patents

Abstract

The trolley comprises a support (10) provided with wheels (11) and comprising two parts (14, 15) which are disposed in planes at right angles to one another and are collapsible to make the support of elongate form; a handle (12) comprising a tubular part (21) pivotally connected to one of the support parts (14) so that the handle is collapsible to a position lying alongside the collapsed support, and a handle part (32) which is slidable in the tubular part between a position for use and a stowed position; and straps (37, 38) attached to the tubular handle part (21) and the other support part (15) and connected together by a releasable and adjustable connector (39). When the erected trolley is fitted to a suitcase, the straps hold the support against a lower edge of the case with the parts of the support lying against the faces which meet at said edge, and the handle extends, in its position for use, upwardly from the adjacent upper edge of the case. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wheeled carriers, for example for luggage This invention is concerned with a wheeled attachment for fitting to an object to enable it to be wheeled from place to place.

The wheeled attachment of the invention has been devised primarily for use with a piece of luggage such as a suitcase or trunk but there is no limitation in this regard since it can be used with other objects, for example fishing baskets.

The aim of the invention is to provide a wheeled attachment which has a simple and hence inexpensive construction and can be easily and quickly fitted to and removed from an object.

According to the invention there is provided a wheeled attachment comprising a support provided with at least one ground-engaging wheel, a handle connected to the support and a flexible elongate element connected between the support and the handle whereby the attachment can be secured around an object with the flexible element holding the support in a position in which it lies against the lower portion of the object, and the handle in a position in which it is disposed adjacent the upper portion of the object so that with the wheel engaged with the ground a user, holding the handle, may wheel the object along the ground.

The handle may be connected to the support by a further flexible elongate element so that the two elements extend between them on opposite sides of an object to which the attachment is fitted.

Preferably, however, the handle is connected directly to the support.

The attachment has been designed primarily for fitting to an object of generally rectangular form such as, for example, a suitcase and in this event the handle and the support are preferably arranged so that when the attachment is fitted to such an object, the support is disposed against one edge of the lower portion of the object and the handle is disposed adjacent to the edge of the upper portion of the object adjacent to said edge whereby the object may be wheeled along with the wheel engaged with the ground and the face of the object between said edges extending from the wheel upwardly at an inclination to the vertical towards the person holding the handle. Thus, for example, the object may be pulled along behind the user.

Preferably, the attachment is collapsible into a compact elongate form when not in use.

The support may comprise two part disposed generally in planes at right angles to one another so that when the support is disposed against an edge of an object, these parts lie respectively against the two faces of the object which meet at said edge.

The support preferably has two said wheels rotatable about a common axis which, with the support disposed against an edge of an object, lies parallel and adjacent to said edge.

The support preferably has at least one foot so that an object to which the attachment is fitted can stand upright with the wheel(s) and the foot or feet in engagement with the ground.

The handle preferably comprises a mounting part which is connected to the support and a handle part which is movable relative to the mounting part between a position for use in which it projects from an object to which the attachment is fitted, and a stowed position in which it lies flat against the object.

The flexible element may incorporate, or be connected to the support or the handle by a releasable connector which facilitate fitting and removal of the attachment to and from an object.

Alternatively, adjustable means may be provided for this purpose, these means also enabling the effective length of the element to be varied so that the attachment can be fitted to objects of different sizes. Preferably, the attachment is provided with a combination of a releasable connector and adjustable means.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of one form of wheeled attachment embodying the invention, the attachment being shown fitted to a suitcase.

The wheeled attachment illustrated in the drawing has a support 10 provided with two wheels 11, a handle 1 2 connected directly to the support, and a flexible elongate element 13 connected between the handle and the support, whereby the attachment can be fitted around a suitcase SC shown in dotted lines with the flexible element 13 holding the support 10 in a position in which it is disposed against an edge El of the lower portion of the suitcase and the handle 1 2 in a position in which it is disposed adjacent to the edge E2 of the upper portion of the suitcase which is adjacent and parallel to the edge El.

The support 10 comprises two parts generally designated 14 and 1 5 disposed in planes at right angles to one another so that they lie respectively against the two faces of the suitcase which meet at the edge E2 against which the support is fitted.

The support has two wheel mountings 1 6 in the form of inverted U-shaped brackets which are interconnected by an axle member 1 7. The two wheels 11 are mounted on the axle for rotation about a common axis parallel and adjacent to the edge El of the suitcase.

The part 14 of the support comprises two members 1 8 and 1 9 pivotally connected at their lower ends to the respective wheel mountings 1 6 for turning relative to the latter about parallel axes 20. The upper end of the member 19 has pivotally connected thereto a mounting part 21 of the handle 12 and U-section guide 22, both the mounting part and the guide being turnable relative to the member 19 about an axis parallel to the axes 20. The member 1 8 is slidable in the guide and its upper end is bent at right angles to provide a stop 23 which prevents the member becoming disengaged from the guide.The members 18 and 19 are therefore movable between an erected position as shown in the drawing and a collapsed position in which they lie side-by-side and adjacent and generally parallel to the axle member 17, the member 18 sliding in the guide 22 on movement of the two members between these positions.

The part 1 5 of the support comprises two members 24 and 25 which are pivotally connected at their one ends to the wheel mountings 16 for turning relative thereto about parallel axes 26 disposed at right angles to the axes 20. Pivotally connected to the other end of the member 25 are a connector 27 including a loop 28 and a U-section guide 29, the connector and the guide being turnable relative to the member 25 about an axis parallel to the axes 26.

The member 24 is slidable in the guide 29 and the two members 24 and 25 are therefore movable between erected and collapsed positions in the same way as the members 18 and 19. Thus, the support 10 is collapsible into a compact elongate form.

The outer ends of the members 24 and 25 are each bent downwardly at right angles to provide a foot 30 which is fitted with an end cap 31 of a plastics material to contact the aground. The suitcase can therefore stand in an upright position (as shown in the drawing) in which it is supported by the wheels 11 and the feet 30. The foot of the member 24 also acts as a stop to prevent disengagement of the member from the guide 29.

The handle 12 comprises the mounting part 21 which is connected to the support, and a handle part 32. The mounting part comprises a circular cross-section metal tubular member, the upper end portion of which is partially flattened so that the bore of the member has at this location two spaced parallel flat faces. A loop 33 formed from a piece of metal rod is attached to the upper end portion of the member, and a plastics cap 34 is fitted to the upper end of the member.The handle part 32 comprises a member formed from a length of metal strip bent double to provide two limbs which are disposed side-by-side and extend through an aperture in the cap 34 into the bore of the tubular member 21, their outer flat faces which are parallel to one another, being urged into frictional engagement with the flat faces of the bore at the upper end of the tubular member by the inherent resilience of the metal strip acting to urge the limbs outwardly away from one another.

The upper end of the handle member 32, formed by a central portion of the metal strip, is shaped to provide a loop 35 to which is attached a flexible loop 36 to be held by the user.

The flexible elongate element 13 comprises two straps 37 and 38 connected together at their one ends by a releasable connector generally designated 39, the other end of the strap 37 being attached to the loop 33 on the handle 12 and the other end of the strap 38 being attached to the loop 28 on the support 10.

The releasable connector 39 comprises two parts 40, 41 of a resilient plastics material. The strap 37 has a free end which passes around, and is frictionally held by, a transverse bar provided on the part 40 whereby the strap is adjustable relative to the connector to vary the effective length of the flexible element 13. The strap 38 has a closed loop which extends around a transverse bar on the part 41. The part 41 is formed with a socket and the part 40 has two prongs which are received with a snap-action fit in the socket, the parts being separable by pressing the prongs inwardly towards one another against their inherent resilience to release them from the socket.

To fit the attachment to the suitcase SC, the connector 39 is released and the support 10 is placed against the edge El of the suitcase with the mounting part 21 of the handle lying against the face of the suitcase between the edges El and E2. The parts of the connector 39 are reconnected and the strap 37 is adjusted relative to the connector to tighten the attachment around the suitcase. The support part 33 of the handle part extends beneath the handle of the suitcase.

The handle part 32 is slidable relative to the mounting part 21 between a position for use as shown in the drawing in which it projects upwardly from the suitcase, and a stowed position in which it lies flat against the side of the case between the edges El and E2, being held in each position by the frictional engagement between the parts. The handle part is simply pushed downwardly to its stowed position. The lower ends of the limbs of the handle part are slightly splayed to prevent it being pulled completely out of the mounting part.

To move the suitcase from place to place, the user grasps the handle loop 36 and swings the suitcase about the axis of the wheels 11 to a position in which the side of the case between the edges El and E2 extends from the wheels upwardly towards the user at an inclination to the vertical, whereby the feet 30 are lifted from the ground. The user can therefore pull or push the suitcase along the ground.

To remove the attachment from the suitcase, the connector 39 is released or the strap 37 simply slackened.

The attachment can then be collapsed into a compact elongate form and placed in a bag. The handle part 32 is pushed into the tubular mounting part 21, the parts 14 and 15 are collapsed and the handle is swung relative to the member 1 8 to a position in which it lies alongside the collapsed support. The overall length of the collapsed attachment is substantially the same as the length of the axle 1 7 with the wheel mountings 16, the pivotal connection of the lower end of the handle part 12 to the upper end of the member 18 being disposed close to one of the wheel mountings so that the handle extends towards the other wheel mounting.

Claims (12)

1. A wheeled attachment for fitting to an object to enable it to be wheeled from place to place, the attachment comprising a support provided with at least one ground-engaging wheel, a handle connected to the support and a flexible elongate element connected between the support and the handle whereby the attachment can be secured around an object with the flexible element holding the support in a position in which it lies against the lower portion of the object, and the handle in a position in which it is disposed adjacent the upper portion of the object so that with the wheel engaged with the ground a user, holding the handle, may wheel the object along the ground.

2. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the handle is connected directly to the support.

3. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the support and the handle are collapsible into an elongate form.

4. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 for fitting to an object of generally rectangular form, wherein the handle and the support are arranged so that when the attachment is fitted to such an object, the support is disposed against one edge of the lower portion of the object and the handle is disposed adjacent to the edge of the upper portion of the object adjacent to said edge.

5. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the support comprises two parts disposed generally in planes at right angles to one another so that when the support is disposed against an edge of an object, these parts lie respectively against the two faces of the object which meet at said edge.

6. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 which has two said wheels rotatable about a common axis which, with the support disposed against an edge of an object, lies parallel and adjacent to said edge.

7. A wheeled attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the support has at least one foot enabling an object to which the attachment is fitted, to stand upright on the ground supported by the wheel(s) and the foot or feet.

8. A wheeled attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the handle comprises a mounting part which is connected to the support, and a handle part which is movable relative to the mounting part between a position for use in which it projects from an object to which the attachment is fitted, and a stored position in which it lies flat against the object.

9. A wheeled attachment as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the two parts of the support are each collapsible so that the support is of elongate form, the handle being pivotally connected to one of said parts so as to be movable to a collapsed position lying alongside the collapsed support.

1 0. A wheeled attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the flexible elongate element incorporates, or is connected to the support or the handle by a releasable connector and/or means adjustable to vary the effective length of the element.

11. A wheeled attachment substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

12. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein or in the accompanying drawing.