GB2214490A

GB2214490A - Luggage case with adjustable handles

Info

Publication number: GB2214490A
Application number: GB8800451A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kenneth William Jenks
Original assignee: SPARTAN LUGGAGE CO Ltd
Current assignee: SPARTAN LUGGAGE CO Ltd
Priority date: 1988-01-09
Filing date: 1988-01-09
Publication date: 1989-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-09
Also published as: GB2214490B; GB8800451D0

Abstract

A luggage case has a handle comprising a holding part between two strap parts 6 each having retention means 10, 11 selectively engagable with location means 12 on the case proper for adjusting the handle between hand carrying and shoulder carrying positions. Stops or tags 10 at or near the remote ends of the strap parts 6 engage with loops 9 to locate the strap parts in the shoulder carrying position. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO HANDLES OF LUGGAGE CASES This invention relates to handles of luggage cases, in particular, but not exclusively, handles of attache cases.

It is normal in known attache cases to have a rigid, shaped handle attached to a front wall of the case. A carrier is therefore restricted to carrying the case in his hand which may be inconvenient.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a handle that can be altered from a hand carrying condition to a shoulder carrying condition enabling the case to be supported from the carrier's shoulder, thereby allowing him to have both-hands free.

According to the present invention a luggage case is provided having a handle which comprises two strap parts and a holding part intermediate the strap parts, each strap part having retention means selectively engageable with location means on the case proper whereby the handle can be adjusted to alter the spacing of the holding part relative to the case proper from a hand carrying to a shoulder carrying position respectively close to and distant from the case proper.

In the hand carrying position the holding part is conveniently spaced from the case proper a distance comparable with that of the grip part of a conventional fixed handle, leaving sufficient clearance from the case proper to accommodate a hand grasping the holding part. In the shoulder carrying position the holding part is spaced sufficiently from the case proper to enable the holding part to seat on a carrier's shoulder with the case proper supported freely under his arm.

Conveniently the lengths of the strap parts and the positions of the location means on the case proper are such that when the holding part is in the shoulder carrying position the case proper can be supported with its front at or above the waist level of a carrier of average height.

The strap parts may be integral with the holding part or they may be separate items joined to the holding part.

The retention means of each strap part may comprise a combination of a fastener element and a stop or tag at or near the end of the strap part remote from the holding part, the fastener element being engageable with a suitable anchorage forming a first location means on the case proper for locating the holding part in the hand carrying position, and the stop or tag being engageable with an abutment on the case proper forming a second location means for locating the holding part in the shoulder carrying position.

Preferably the fastener element and its anchorage are mating components of a press stud fastening although the fastener element and anchorage may take other forms, if desired, such as a clip and ring, or a button, or toggle and eye. In a preferred embodiment the anchorages for the two strap parts are at opposite ends of the case proper and when the holding part is in the hand carrying position the strap parts extend from the anchorage along the ends and front of the case proper to the holding part.

Loops may be attached to the front of the case proper through which the strap parts slide freely as the holding part is adjusted between the two positions. These loops may provide the abutments forming the second location means with which the stops or tags of the strap parts are engageable. They may be positioned on the front of the case proper to be adjacent to opposite ends of the holding part when it is in its hand carrying position.

The strap parts may have widened end portions, or have wider tabs secured to their ends, which are too wide to pass through the loops and abut against the loops to determine the shoulder carrying position of the holding part.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an attache case in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a view of the case with the handle extended, and Figure 3 is a side view of the case.

In this embodiment the case is of a substantially rectangular box shape with a body 1, a frame 2, a lid 3 and an adjustable handle 4.

The handle 4 can be adjusted between two alternative positions to enable the case to be carried by hand or supported from a shoulder. The handle comprises a holding part 5 and two strap parts 6 which are integral with and extend from opposite ends of the holding part. The holding part 5 comprises a leather strip 7 continuous with the strap parts 6 and a strip 8 of soft suede joined together encompassing a curved stiffener, not shown. The straps 7 and 8 may be of other suitable materials. The strap parts are of equal length and pass through loops 9 attached to the frame 2 on either side of the holding part 5. Tabs 10 are joined to the ends of the straps remote from the holding part.A female element 11 of a press stud fastener is riveted to each tab and the adjoining end of the strap, and a complementary male element 12 of the press stud fastener is secured on each end wall of the frame 2.

The two loops 9, through which the straps pass, are mounted symmetrically on the front wall of the frame, spaced apart from each other substantially by the length of the holding part. The loops are large enough for the strap parts 6 to pass through freely but are smaller than the width of the tabs 10 so that the tabs are prevented from passing through them In use, when the handle is in the hand carrying position, the male and female elements of the press stud fastener are connected together, positioning the holding part between and abutting the sides of the loops, as shown in Figure 1. To lengthen the handle so that the case may be carried over a shoulder, the elements of the press stud fastener are disengaged enabling the strap parts to slide through the loops until the tabs contact the loops. The handle is then at its maximum length, as shown in Figure 2.

The frame 2 is substantially rigid to provide firm support for the loops 9, the male elements 12 of the press stud fastener and the body of the case.

Claims

1. A luggage case having a handle which comprises two strap parts and a holding part intermediate the strap parts, each strap part having retention means selectively engageable with location means on the case proper whereby the handle can be adjusted to alter the spacing of the holding part relative to the case proper from a hand carrying to a shoulder carrying position respectively close to and distant from the case proper.

2. A luggage case according to claim 1 wherein in the hand carrying position the holding part is spaced from the case proper a distance which leaves sufficient clearance from the case proper to accommodate a hand grasping the holding part.

3. A luggage case according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the lengths of the strap parts and position of the location means on the case proper are such that when the holding part is in the shoulder carrying position the case proper can be supported with its front at or above the waist level of a carrier of average height.

4. A luggage case according to any preceding claim wherein the retention means of each strap part comprises a fastener element and a stop or tag at or near the end of the strap part remote from the holding part, and the location means associated with each strap part comprises an anchorage and an abutment, the fastener element being engageable with the anchorage for locating the holding part in the hand carrying position, and the stop or tag being engageable with the abutment for locating the holding part in the shoulder carrying position.

5. A luggage case according to claim 4 wherein the fastener element and the anchorage are mating components of a press stud fastening.

6. A luggage case according to claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the anchorages for the two strap parts are at opposite ends of the case proper and when the holding part is in the hand carrying position the strap parts extend from the anchorages along the respective ends and along the front of the case proper to the holding part.

7. A luggage case according to any of claims 4 to 6 wherein the abutments for the two strap parts comprise loops through which the strap parts extend, and which allow the strap parts to move through them as the holding part is adjusted between the two positions but are engaged by the stops or tags when the holding part is in the shoulder carrying position to restrain the strap parts from further movement through the loops in that adjusting direction.

8. A luggage case according to claim 7 wherein the loops are positioned such that they are adjacent to opposite ends of the holding part when the holding part is in the hand carrying position.

9. A luggage case according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the strap parts have widened end portions which form the stops or tags.

10. A luggage case according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the strap parts have wider tabs secured to them at their ends which form the stops or tags.

11. A luggage case according to any preceding claim wherein the holding part is stiff.

12. A luggage case according to any preceding claim in the form of an attache case having a body and a lid, the handle being mounted on the body and the holding part being at the front of the body.

13. A luggage case according to claim 2 wherein the body has a substantially rigid frame and the location means are mounted on said frame.

14. A luggage case substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.