Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
q~ ` j
284-IM
POR'rABLE HANDL~
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable handle. In
~he prior art, portable carrying devices are known, however,
~pplicant is unaware of any such device having all of tha
features and aspects of the present invention.
The following prior art is known to Applicant:
Un.;ted States Patent Number 3,861,733 to Vander Mey
di.scloses a handle and retainer designed to be used to carry,
for example, a semi-conductor wafer, which handle includes
gripping portions and a handle portion. ~he present invention
lif~e~rs ~rom ~lle teaching8 of Vander Mey as conkemplating a
portable handle having a hook-like portion on which the handles
of shopping bags may be supported.
Uni-ted States Patent Number 4,772,059 to Parry et al.
discloses a carrying member including a central slot closeable
by a pi~otable latch and which when opened allows receipt o~
I:he harldles of a plurality o~ shopping bags. The present
inverltion differs from the teachings of Parry et al. as
contemplating a device including a handle with a depending hook
member with a latch.
United States Patent Numbex 4,841,596 to Fink discloses
the concep~ of a handle designed to support a plurality of
shopping bag handles including a gripping portion having slots
designed to allow support of one or more plastic shopping bag
halldles. The present invention diffexs Erom the teachings of
Fink as contemplating a gripping portion with a hook-like
me]ll~er depending therefrom.
~5? ~3
SVMMARY OF THE INVENTION
~rhe present invention relates to a portable handle. ~he
present invention includes the following interrelated objects,
aspec-ts and features:
(A) In a first aspect, the present inven~ion includes a
handle portion having an opening designed to allow receipt of
the fingers of the user to allow the device ~o be gripped. If
~esired, adjacent recesses are provided to receive individual
fingers.
(B) Depending from the handle portion is a hook-like
nlember which extends downwardly and laterally to a termination
poin~ forward of the handle portion.
(C) ~ latch mechanism is pivotably attached to the handle
portion and depends downwardly engaging a top surface of the
lloolc-.l.i.Jce member. ~ coil spring mounted betweell a pivot pin o~
the latch member and the body of the handle portion biases the
latcll device in a position in engagement with the said -top
~urface of the hook~like member.
(D) ~he latch member may be pivoted against the force of
the coil spring to create an opening between the termination of
~:he la~ch lnember and the top surface of the hook-like member to
a:l.low the handles of one or more shopping bags to be moved past
~lle latch member, whereupon release of the latch member allows
the coil spring to pivot the la~ch.member to a position wherein
~5 l:llc-~ halldles are retained on the hook-like member.
~s such, it is a first object of the present invention to
provide a portable handle. ~ '
I~ is a further object of the present invention to provide
sucll a clevice including a handle por~ion and a depending hook-
like member. ;
It .is a yet further. ob ~ the present invention to
prC)V.i(le BUCh a device inaluding a latch member allowing
retention o~ the handles of one or more shopping bags on the
llook-like lnember.
These and other object~, aspects and featur~s of tha
present invention will be better understood from the ~ollowing
detailed description o~ the preferred embodiment when read in
conjunction with the appended drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a side view of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a front view of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a view of a por-~ion of the other side of
tlle present invention.
Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV
oE Figure 2.
Fi.gure 5 shows a cxo~-8ec~ional view along the line V-V
of Fiyure 2.
'';
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Wit}l reference to the figures, the present invention is
. generally designated by the reference numsral 10 and is seen to
i.nc:lude a handle uortion 11 and a depending hook-like member
23. Tlle llandle por-~ion 11 includes a top portion 13 and a
bottom portion 15 defining therebetween an opening 17 sized and
collfi.gure~ to allow the fingers of the user to extend
therctllrougll to allow gripping of. the handle portion 11. As
showrl par~icularly in Figure 1, a plurality of recesses 19 are
Eormed in the opening 17 for individual finger gripping.
~s particularly seen in Figure 1, the hook-like member 23
.i.s connected to the handle portion 11 via a connecting portion
21. The hook-like member 23 extends downwardly from the handle
pOI. ~iOIl 11 and then curves upwardly to a termination point 25-
Wi.~h roference ~o Figure~ 1~5, a latch member 30 is ~een
~ be pivo Lably mounted on eho h dle portion 11 and includee a
Z~ 36
~hulllb receiving portion 31 at one end thereof, a central
por~ion 34 moving in a channel 14 in the handle portion 11 and
a tip 33 at another end -thereof which may engage a recess 22 in
the top surface 24 of the hook-liko member 23. As particularly
¦ seen witll reference to Figures 2-5, the latch member 30 is
¦ mounted on the handle portion ll by virtue of an elonga~ed bolt
¦ 35 having a head 37, a central portion 39 extending thxough the
¦ s~uare opening 32 of the latch 30 and being of square cross-
¦ sec~ion (Figure 4), and an end extending through the handle
¦ portion 11 as best seen with reerence to Figures 2 and 3.
()Iller ~llan at the por~ion 39 of square cross-section, the bolt
35 has a circular cross~section as seen, for example, in Figure
5, to allow the bolt 35 to freely rotate within an opening 16
formed in the handle portion 11 (Figure 5). ~s seen in Figure
~, ~he ].atch member 30 has the opening 32 o~ square cro~s~
sec-tion complimentary -to the portion 39 of the bolt 35 so that
when the latch 30 is pivoted, the bolt 35 rotates therewith.
On the end o~ the bolt 35 remote ~rom the head 37 thereof,
a nut 41 is attached and permanently fixed in position thereon
by sui-table means such as, for example, tha weld bead 43
(li'ic3ure 3). ~ coil spring 45 is interconnected between the nut
~l and ~lle handle portion 11 a~ shown in Figures 2 and 3. In
particular, the coil spring 45 has an end 47 received within a
recess 42 in the nut 41, and another end 49 received within a
recess 51 in the handle por~ion ll. In this way, with
reference back to Figure 1, when ~he latch member 30 is rotated
in a clockwise direction in the view of Figure 1, such
movement is against the force of the coil spring 45 which
provides a restoring force whereby the latch member 30 tends to
move in a counterclockwi~e direction in the view of Figure 1
wi.~:h the tip 33 thereof in engagement with the recess 22 in the
~op surface 24 of the hook-like member 23 to close a "chambsr"
. 2G ~ormed by the bottom portion 15 of tha handle portion 11,
;~ ;r~ ~ ~ ~
~he top surface 24 o the hook-like member 23 and the body o~
t}le latch member 30.
Now, with the above description in mind, the preferrad
mode oE operation of the present invention will now be
S described.
When it is desired to support one or more handles 3, 5 of
one or more shopping bags 1 on the inventive device lO, the
I harldles 3, 5 are slipped over the tip 25 of the hook-like
¦ member 23 and are slid downwardly tcward the latch 30 tip 33.
rrhe latch 30 is rotated in the clockwi~e direction in the view
oL l;.igure 1 to allow the handles 3, 5 to be slid into khe
"chamber" 26 as shown in Figure 1. Release of the latch
member 30 causes the latch member 30 to rotate in the
counterclockwise direction in the view of Figure 1 to the
posi~i.oll sllown in Figure 1 with the tip 33 thereof engaging the
recess 22 in the top surface 24 of the hook-like member 23. In
this position, the bag 1 is retained in position on the hook-
like membe.r 23 and the handle portion 11 may be gripped by
engaging the fingers of the user on the recesses 19 in the
openirlg 17 of the handle portion 11 so that the bag 1 or a
plura.l.i~y of bags such as the bag 1 may be suitably carried in
one halld.
When it is desired to release the bags 1 from the device
10, -the latch member 30 is pivoted in the clockwise direction
(1~i~ure J.) and the handles 3, 5 are sui.tably slid toward and
over ~he tip 25 thereby releasing them from the hook-like
nlember 23. The latch member 30 i8 released allowing it to be
res-tored to the position shown in Figure 1.
In the preferred embodiment o~ ~he present invention, the
various components thereof may suitably be made of any suitable
plastic material except for the bolt 35, nut 41 and coil spring
~5 WlliCil may be made of suitable metallic materials for
stren~tll and rigidity.
. 5
As such, an invention has been disclosed in termæ of a
preferred embodiment thereo~ which fulfills each and every one
of -the objects of the present invention as set forth
hereinabove and provides a new and useful portable handle of
great novelty and utility.
of course, various changes, modifications and alterations
in the teachings of -the present invention may be contemplated
by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended
spiri-t and scope thereof. As such, it is intended that the
present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended
. ~
,.''.~
. 6;,~ ~
