US20140027226A1

US20140027226A1 - Luggage

Info

Publication number: US20140027226A1
Application number: US13/726,702
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph Liang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-07-25
Filing date: 2012-12-26
Publication date: 2014-01-30
Also published as: TWM445893U

Abstract

A luggage includes a suitcase body, a plurality of wheels rotatably disposed under the suitcase body, and a pivotable telescopic pull handle unit disposed on the suitcase body. The pivotable telescopic pull handle unit includes a pair of fixation seats, a pair of pivoting seats, a pair of pivotable engaging units, a pair of telescopic rod units, a pair of telescopic engaging units, and an operating unit. Since rotation of said pivoting seats is driven by the pivotable engaging units, and since rotation of the telescopic rod units is driven by the telescopic engaging units, the luggage can be conveniently operated.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 101214394, filed on Jul. 25, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a luggage, more particularly to a luggage with a pivotable and telescopic pull handle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chinese Utility Model Patent No. ZL 93202228.6 discloses a luggage including a suitcase body, an auxiliary pull handle that is pivotably disposed on the suitcase body, and a lift handle that is mounted on the suitcase body.
When the auxiliary pull handle is put in an upright position for use, two handle rods of the auxiliary pull handle have bottom portions that are stopped by a pair of top bevel blocks, respectively. When it is desired to move the auxiliary pull handle to a horizontal position for storage, a linking rod is manually pushed to drive the top bevel blocks to be lowered down. The handle rods are then able to be manually pivoted.
Although the luggage of the Chinese Utility Model Patent has the advantages of increased interior receiving space and decreased weight, it still has drawbacks, such as inconvenient operation of the auxiliary pull handle and poor positioning effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a luggage that can avoid the aforesaid problems encountered in the prior art.
According to this invention, a luggage includes:
a suitcase body that has a bottom portion and a top portion opposite to the bottom portion;
a plurality of wheels that are respectively and rotatably disposed under the bottom portion of the suitcase body; and
a pivotable telescopic pull handle unit that is disposed on the top portion of the suitcase body and that includes:

- a pair of fixation seats that are respectively secured on the top portion of the suitcase body;
- a pair of pivoting seats that are respectively and pivotably disposed in the fixation seats;
- a pair of pivotable engaging units that are respectively disposed in the pivoting seats, each of the pivotable engaging units including a bottom driving member that is disposed pivotably in the corresponding one of the pivoting seats, a bottom engaging member that is disposed in the corresponding one of the pivoting seats and that is drivable by the bottom driving member so as to move between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to the corresponding one of the fixation seats, and a bottom biasing member that is disposed between the bottom engaging member and the corresponding one of the pivoting seats for biasing the bottom engaging member toward the engaged position;
  - a pair of telescopic rod units that are respectively disposed on the pivoting seats, each of the telescopic rod units having an outer rod that is secured on the corresponding one of the pivoting seats, and an inner rod that extends through the outer rod and that is movable telescopically along the outer rod;
  - a pair of telescopic engaging units, each of which is disposed in the inner rod of a corresponding one of the telescopic rod units and has a carrier seat that is secured at a bottom portion of the inner rod, a top driving member that is pivotably disposed in the carrier seat, a top engaging member that is disposed in the carrier seat and that is movable by the top driving member between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to the outer rod of the corresponding one of the telescopic rod units, and a top biasing member that is disposed between the top engaging member and the carrier seat for biasing the top engaging member toward the engaged position; and
  - an operating unit that includes an operating block and a pair of push rods, each of which extends through the inner rod of a corresponding one of the telescopic rod units so as to push the top driving member of a corresponding one of the telescopic engaging units and to be connected to the operating block.

When the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is disposed in a pull-out state for use, the top engaging members are disposed in the engaged position and the bottom engaging members are disposed in the engaged position. When the operating block is pushed to drive rotation of the top engaging members through the push rods, the top engaging members are driven to move to the disengaged position by the top driving members. When the operating unit is pushed so that the telescopic engaging units are respectively driven to move toward the bottom portion of the suitcase body by the inner rods, the top driving members urge the bottom driving members to rotate to drive the bottom engaging members to move to the disengaged position, thereby allowing the pivoting seats to rotate and thus position the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit in a storage state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred embodiment of a luggage according to the present invention when a pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is positioned in a pull-out state for use;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating how engaging blocks of a bottom engaging member are blocked by a stopper of a fixation seat when the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is in the pull-out state for use;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating the construction of the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating the construction of a pivoting seat and a pivotable engaging unit;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating the construction of a telescopic engaging unit;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional front view of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 6, illustrating the structural relationship among the pivotable engaging unit, the telescopic engaging unit and an operating unit when an operating block is in a released position, a top engaging member is in an engaged position and a bottom engaging member is in an engaged position;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 7, illustrating the structural relationship among the pivotable engaging unit, the telescopic engaging unit and the operating unit when the operating block is in a pushed position, the top engaging member is in a disengaged position, and the bottom engaging member is in an engaged position;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 8, illustrating the top engaging members in the disengaged position and the bottom engaging member in a disengaged position; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit that is positioned in a storage state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 6 to 7, the preferred embodiment of a luggage according to the present invention includes a suitcase body 2 having a bottom portion 21, a top portion 22 opposite to the bottom portion 21, a plurality of wheels 3, and a pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4.
The wheels 3 are respectively and rotatably disposed under the bottom portion 21 of the suitcase body 2.
The pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is disposed on the top portion 22 of the suitcase body 2, and includes a pair of fixation seats 40, a pair of pivoting seats 50, a pair of pivotable engaging units 60, a pair of telescopic rod units 70, a pair of telescopic engaging units 80, an operating unit 90, and a lift handle 100.
The fixation seats 40 are respectively secured on the top portion 22 of the suitcase body 2 by a plurality of fasteners 110. In this embodiment, the fasteners 110 are threadedly secured on the suitcase body 2 and are in the form of threaded bolts. Each fixation seat 40 is formed with a pivotally engaging groove 41, a pair of pivoting holes 42, a pair of engaging holes 43, and a stopper 44. The pivoting holes 42 and the engaging holes 43 respectively extend along a left-to-right direction (Y direction) of the suitcase body 2 and are respectively in spatial communication with the pivotally engaging groove 41. The engaging holes 43 are disposed on a front end of the fixation seat 40 and are aligned with each other in a top-to-bottom direction (Z direction) of the suitcase body 2. The stopper 44 is formed on a top surface 401 of the fixation seat 40 and is disposed at a junction between a front high portion that is located at the front end of the fixation seat 40 and a rear low portion of the top surface 401.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7, each of the pivoting seats 50 is disposed in the pivotally engaging groove 41 of a corresponding one of the fixation seats 40 and includes a first housing 51 and a second housing 52 that are correspondingly coupled with each other. The first housing 51 has a guide rail 514 and a first pivot stub 515, both of which extend along the Y direction. The second housing 52 has a second pivot stub 524 that extends along the Y direction.
After the first housing 51 and the second housing 52 are correspondingly coupled together, the first pivot stub 515 and the second pivot stub 524 are respectively inserted into the pivoting holes 42 of the corresponding one of the fixation seats 40 so that the pivoting seat 50 can be rotated relative to the corresponding fixation seat 40.
Each of the pivotable engaging units 60 is disposed in a corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50. Each of the pivotable engaging units 60 includes a bottom driving member 61 that is disposed pivotably in the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50, a bottom engaging member 62 that is disposed in the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 and that is drivable by the bottom driving member 61 to move along the Y direction between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to the corresponding one of the fixation seats 40, and a bottom biasing member 63 that is disposed between the bottom engaging member 62 and the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 for biasing the bottom engaging member 62 toward the engaged position.
The bottom driving member 61 of each of the pivotable engaging units 60 includes a pivoting block 611 that is disposed on the first housing 51 of the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 and secured thereto by a pivot shaft 64, and a pair of driven blocks 612 and a driving block 613, which extend radially from the pivoting block 611 in opposite directions.
The bottom engaging member 62 of each of the pivotable engaging units 60 includes a pair of engaging blocks 621 that extend through the first housing 51 of the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 and that are movable between the engaged position and the disengaged position relative to the stopper 44 of the corresponding one of the fixation seats 40, a connecting block 622 that connects the engaging blocks 621, and a guide block 623 that is disposed on the connecting block 622 and that is matched with the guide rail 514.
Each of the telescopic rod units 70 is disposed on a corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 along the Z direction, and has an outer rod 71 that is secured on the corresponding one of the pivoting seats 50 and an inner rod 72 that extends through the outer rod 71 and that is movable telescopically along the Z direction.
Preferably, the outer rod 71 of each of the telescopic rod units 70 is formed with a plurality of adjusting holes 712 along the Z direction. The inner rod 72 of each of the telescopic rod units 70 is formed with a through hole 721 that is adapted to be registered with one of the adjusting holes 712 of the corresponding outer rod 71.
Referring back to FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 7, each of the telescopic engaging units 80 is disposed in the inner rod 72 of a corresponding one of the telescopic rod units 70 and has a carrier seat 82 that is secured at a bottom portion of the inner rod 72 by an engaging ring 81, a top driving member 83 that is pivotably disposed in the carrier seat 82, a top engaging member 84 that is disposed in the carrier seat 82 and that is movable by the top driving member 83 between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to the outer rod 71 of the corresponding one of the telescopic rod units 70, and a top biasing member 86 that is disposed between the top engaging member 84 and the carrier seat 82 for biasing the top engaging member 84 toward the engaged position.
The carrier seat 82 has a carrier frame 821 that is disposed in the inner rod 72 of the corresponding one of the telescopic rod units 70 and that is formed with a pivoting groove 822 that extends along a front-to-rear direction of the suitcase body 2 (X direction).
The top driving member 83 of each of the telescopic engaging units 80 includes a pivot shaft 831 that is pivotally disposed in the pivoting groove 822, a compression plate 832 that is formed radially from the pivot shaft 831 and that is disposed in the carrier frame 821, a pair of outer driving arms 833 that are bent and extend from the compression plate 832 along the Z direction, and an inner driving arm 834 that is disposed beneath the compression plate 832 and that extends therefrom so as to be separated from the outer driving arms 833.
Each of the top engaging members 84 includes a member body 841 that is movable between the outer driving arms 833 of the top driving member 83 of the corresponding one of the telescopic engaging units 80 along the Y direction and that is formed with a receiving slot 842 for receiving the inner driving arm 834 of the top driving member 83 of the corresponding one of the telescopic engaging units 80, and an engaging block 843 that extends along the Y direction and that is inserted form the member body 841 into the through hole 721 of the inner rod 72 and the adjusting hole 712 of the outer rod 71 of the corresponding one of the telescopic rod units 70.
The operating unit 90 includes a grip 91 that is disposed between top portions of the inner rods 72 of the telescopic rod unit 70, an operating block 92 that is disposed in the grip 91 and that is movable along the Z direction between a pushed position and a released position, a biasing member 93 that is disposed between the operating block 92 and the grip 91 for biasing the operating block 92 toward the released position, and a pair of push rods 95, each of which extends from the operating block 92 through a corresponding one of the inner rods 72 and moves with the operating block 92 for pushing against the corresponding one of the top driving members 83.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lift handle 100 is disposed between the bottom portions of the fixation seats 40 and is disposed above the top portion 22 of the suitcase body 2.
Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, since the incorporated structures respectively formed by the pair of fixation seats 40, the pair of pivoting seats 50, the pair of pivotable engaging units 60, the pair of the telescopic rod units 70, and the telescopic engaging units 80 are symmetrically identical, only one of the incorporated structures is illustrated hereinafter.
In use, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6, and 7, when the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is disposed in a pull-out state for use, the operating block 92 is in the released position and the engaging block 843 of the top engaging member 84 extends through the through hole 721 and one of the adjusting holes 712 so as to be disposed in the engaged position. Hence, the inner rod 72 cannot move relative to the outer rod 71 along the Z direction, and the engaging blocks 621 of the bottom engaging member 62 extend out of the pivoting seat 50 and the outer rod 71 and are stopped by the stopper 44 of the fixation seat 40 so as to be disposed in the engaged position, thereby preventing the pivoting seat 50 from rotating relative to the fixation seat 40.
When the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is pivotably folded, as shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8, the operating block 92 is pushed so that the operating block 92 is disposed in the pushed position, the push rod 95 is moved downwardly and pushes the compression plate 832 of the top driving member 83 such that the top driving member 83 is pivoted about the pivot shaft 831, and the inner driving arm 834 urges the top engaging member 84 to move along the Y direction until the engaging block 843 is released from the adjusting hole 712 so as to be disposed in the disengaged position. At this moment, the inner rod 72 is movable along the Z direction relative to the outer rod 71. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 8, and 9, the grip 91 is continually pushed to urge the inner rod 72 and the telescopic engaging unit 80 to move towards the bottom portion 21. When the outer driving arms 833 of the top driving member 83 abut against and push against the driven blocks 612 of the bottom driving member 61, respectively, the bottom driving member 61 is pivoted about the pivot shaft 64 and the driving block 613 urges the bottom engaging member 62 to move along the Y direction until the engaging blocks 621 are released from the stopper 44 so as to be disposed in the disengaged position. Thereafter, when a forward rotating force is exerted on the grip 91, the pivoting seat 50 is rotated forward relative to the fixation seat 40, as shown in FIG. 10. When the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is rotated forward to be disposed on the top portion 22 of the suitcase body 2 and parallel to the X direction, and the engaging blocks 621 are automatically and respectively extended through the engaging holes 43 of the fixation seat 40, the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is positioned in the storage state.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, if it is desired to pull out the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 for use once again, first, the operating block 92 is pushed to release the engaging blocks 621 from the engaging holes 43 and then an upward rotating force is exerted on the grip 91, thereby rotating the pivoting seat 50 upward relative to the fixation seat 40. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the grip 91 is pulled out upward along the Z direction until the engaging block 843 automatically extends through the through hole 721 and one of the adjusting holes 712 so as to be disposed in the engaged position, and then the inner rod 72 is positioned. When the inner rod 72 is pulled out to be released from the outer rod 71 and to be positioned using the adjusting holes 712, the overall height of the luggage ranges from 34 inches to 40 inches, which is the optimum height for a user to drag the luggage.
The abovementioned preferred embodiment is not restrictive. For example, the position of the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 in the storage state can be changed. In an alternative arrangement, the fixation seat 40 may be designed to be disposed at a junction between the top portion 22 and the back portion of the suitcase body 2 in such a manner that the pivoting seat 50 is rotated backward relative to the fixation seat 40. In this arrangement, the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 is rotated backward to abut against the back portion of the suitcase body 2 so as to be positioned in the storage state.
In view of the foregoing, by virtue of the structural arrangement of the luggage of this invention, only one hand is needed for pulling or storing operation of the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4. Hence, the luggage of this invention can be easily and conveniently operated. Additionally, when the inner rods 72 are pulled out or extended through the outer rods 71, respectively, the positioning effect of each inner rod 72 can be enhanced by the corresponding one of the engaging blocks 843 of the top engaging member 84 that is able to automatically extend through the corresponding through hole 721 and one of the corresponding adjusting holes 712. The positioning effect of the pivotable telescopic pull handle unit 4 in the storage state can be enhanced by the engaging blocks 621 of the bottom engaging member 62 that are able to extend through the corresponding engaging holes 43, respectively. Finally, since the lift handle 100 is also secured on the top portion 22 of the suitcase body 2 through the fixation seats 40, the time and cost for installing the lift handle 100 can be reduced.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A luggage comprising:

a suitcase body that has a bottom portion and a top portion opposite to said bottom portion;

a plurality of wheels that are respectively and rotatably disposed under said bottom portion of said suitcase body; and

a pivotable telescopic pull handle unit that is disposed on said top portion of said suitcase body and that includes:

a pair of fixation seats that are respectively secured on said top portion of said suitcase body;

a pair of pivoting seats that are respectively and pivotably disposed in said fixation seats;

a pair of pivotable engaging units that are respectively disposed in said pivoting seats, each of said pivotable engaging units including a bottom driving member that is disposed pivotably in the corresponding one of said pivoting seats, a bottom engaging member that is disposed in the corresponding one of said pivoting seats and that is drivable by said bottom driving member so as to move between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to the corresponding one of said fixation seats, and a bottom biasing member that is disposed between said bottom engaging member and the corresponding one of said pivoting seats for biasing said bottom engaging member toward the engaged position;

a pair of telescopic rod units that are respectively disposed on said pivoting seats, each of said telescopic rod units having an outer rod that is secured on the corresponding one of said pivoting seats, and an inner rod that extends through said outer rod and that is movable telescopically along said outer rod;

a pair of telescopic engaging units, each of which is disposed in said inner rod of a corresponding one of said telescopic rod units and has a carrier seat that is secured at a bottom portion of said inner rod, a top driving member that is pivotably disposed in said carrier seat, a top engaging member that is disposed in said carrier seat and that is movable by said top driving member between an engaged position and a disengaged position relative to said outer rod of the corresponding one of the telescopic rod units, and a top biasing member that is disposed between said top engaging member and said carrier seat for biasing said top engaging member toward the engaged position; and

an operating unit that includes an operating block and a pair of push rods, each of which extends through said inner rod of a corresponding one of said telescopic rod units so as to push said top driving member of a corresponding one of said telescopic engaging units and to be connected to said operating block,

wherein, when said pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is disposed in a pull-out state for use, said top engaging members are disposed in the engaged position and said bottom engaging members are disposed in the engaged position; when said operating block is pushed to drive rotation of said top engaging members through said push rods, said top engaging members are driven to move to the disengaged position by said top driving members; and when said operating unit is pushed so that said telescopic engaging units are respectively driven to move toward said bottom portion of said suitcase body by said inner rods, said top driving members urge said bottom driving members to rotate to drive said bottom engaging members to move to the disengaged position, thereby allowing said pivoting seats to rotate and thus position said pivotable telescopic pull handle unit in a storage state.

2. The luggage of claim 1, wherein said bottom driving member of each of said pivotable engaging units includes a pivoting block that is disposed on the corresponding one of said pivoting seats through a pivot shaft, and a pair of driven blocks and a driving block that extend radially from said pivoting block in opposite directions, said bottom engaging member of each of the pivotable engaging units including a pair of engaging blocks that extend through the corresponding one of said pivoting seats and that are movable between the engaged position and the disengaged position relative to the corresponding one of said fixation seats, and a connecting block that connects said engaging blocks and that is drivable by said driving block.

3. The luggage of claim 2, wherein each of said fixation seats further includes a stopper that is formed on a top surface thereof, said engaging blocks of said bottom engaging members being respectively blocked by said stoppers when said pivotable telescopic pull hand unit is in the pull-out state for use.

4. The luggage of claim 3, wherein said stopper of each of said fixation seats is disposed at a junction between a front high portion and a rear low portion of said top surface.

5. The luggage of claim 3, wherein each of said fixation seats is formed with a pair of engaging holes, said engaging blocks of the corresponding one of said bottom engaging members respectively extending through said engaging holes when said pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is positioned in the storage state.

6. The luggage of claim 5, wherein each of said pivoting seats includes a first housing and a second housing that are correspondingly coupled with each other, said first housing having a guide rail, and each of said bottom engaging members further including a guide block that is disposed on said connecting block of the corresponding one of said pivotable engaging units and that is matched with said guide rail of the corresponding one of said pivoting seats.

7. The luggage of claim 1, wherein said carrier seat of each of said telescopic engaging units includes a carrier frame that is disposed in said inner rod of the corresponding one of said telescopic rod units and a pivoting groove disposed in said carrier frame, said top driving member of each of said telescopic engaging units including a pivot shaft that is pivotally disposed in said pivoting groove, a compression plate that is formed radially from said pivot shaft and that is disposed in said carrier frame, a pair of outer driving arms that are bent and extend from said compression plate so as to drive the corresponding one of said bottom driving members, and an inner driving arm that is disposed beneath said compression plate and extends therefrom so as to drive the corresponding one of said top driving engaging members.

8. The luggage of claim 7, wherein each of said top engaging members includes a member body that is movable between said outer driving arms of said top driving member of the corresponding one of said telescopic engaging units, a receiving slot for receiving said inner driving arm of said top driving member of the corresponding one of said telescopic engaging units, and an engaging block that extends from said member body and that is inserted between said inner rod and said outer rod of the corresponding one of said telescopic rod units.

9. The luggage of claim 1, wherein said luggage has an overall height that ranges from 34 inches to 40 inches when said pivotable telescopic pull handle unit is positioned in the pull-out state.

10. The luggage of claim 1, further comprising a lift handle that is mounted between said fixation seats.