COMBINATION HOOK AND HANDLE ASSEMBLY FOR LUGGAGE

INVENTOR: Ellen Cattebeke

RELATED APPLICATIONS

United States patent application number 60/705,766 filed August 5, 2005 entitled, "Combination Hook and Handle Assembly for Luggage" is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT

The current device relates to garment bags, and more specifically relates to portable garment bags designed to remain stable during transport as well as maintain clothes relatively wrinkle-free by remaining parallel to and flush with the plane of its carrier.

BACKGROUND

"Piggyback"® is a registered trademark of Samsonite Corporation used on their

proprietary system for conveniently transporting more than one item of luggage at a time, together as a single unit. Other ways of wheeling multiple luggage cases include toting a smaller carry-on luggage case atop a wheeled piece of luggage. These methods have increased travelers' sense of security and expediency while transporting such items. In

the past, attempts have been made to provide a method of attaching a garment bag to a wheeled luggage; however, such attempts have typically included systems of relatively complex straps. The garment bag tended to slide around or slip off the "carrier" item of luggage. Other attempts have included over-sized hook portions of hangers designed to accommodate one's fingers, but the strain placed on one's fingers is uncomfortable, making carrying such garment bags ineffectual and stressful.

There is therefore a need for a combinational storing and toting mechanism that can be attached to packed garment bags and the like that will give a traveler the option of carrying the garment bag (or other bag) comfortably, hanging the garment bag securely, or attaching the garment bag to a wheeled item of luggage. It would be beneficial to provide such a combinational storing and toting assembly with a means of maintaining a symmetric and flush disposition of the garment bag to the wheeled luggage case. This would prevent the garment bag from protruding outwardly from the plane of the carrier wheeled luggage case at awkward angles, potentially dropping the clothes and causing them to wrinkle, or, most frustratingly, disengaging entirely from the wheeled luggage or "carrier" case. It is another object of the present embodiment to provide a mechanism that can be securely attached to a grip portion of the carrier luggage case's handle (tow- handle). Examples of typical tow-handles include two parallel rods with grip or handle at the top of the rods, tow-handles having a single rod with a T-shaped or other shaped handle design in which the handle or grip portion is perpendicular to the vertical rod. It would be beneficial for such a mechanism to be adaptable to any kind of guiding device such as tow handles, otherwise known as guide and/or wheel handles, as well as shorter

grip handles, and handles that may be rotated, extended, or otherwise moved to suit the ergonomics of the traveler.

Still another object of the present embodiment is to provide means for doubling or folding a garment bag, while being carried by the present embodiment, to conserve space and prevent the garment bag from dragging on the ground. Of course, an object of the current embodiment is to allow the garment bag to be fully extended as well, if desired. It is desirable to have the option of extending the garment bag, so that clothes contained within can remain relatively wrinkle free. This is especially true of damp or easily wrinkled material.

Yet another object of the current embodiment is to provide a means for storing the garment bag on other objects such as from the top of a door, the top of a chair back, a clothing rack or rod, a railing banister, and so on. It is therefore of benefit to provide an aesthetically pleasing combination hook/handle assembly that can be comfortably toted by hand, or adjusted to accommodate various surfaces during transport on a carrier article of luggage.

The features, utilities, and advantages of various embodiments of the device will be apparent from the following more particular description of embodiments of the device, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and as defined in the appended claims.

SUMMARY

The present embodiment provides a comfortable, lightweight, strong and versatile handle/hook assembly, wherein the handle of the hook/handle assembly is disposed perpendicularly to the handle of the hook/handle assembly, so that a traveler can easily

and conveniently store and transport any item of luggage to which the hook/handle assembly is attached.

Herein, the term "luggage" shall be meant to include all types of storage and/or transport vessels including large storage containers such as garment bags, briefcases, computer bags, messenger bags, backpacks, carry-on items, purses, and so on. The present embodiment can be applied to vessels of soft, hard, "hybrid" (soft and hard-side), or other construction.

The present embodiment of a "combination hook/handle assembly", herein referred to as a "HHA", accomplishes these goals by providing a semi-rigid yet somewhat flexible handle in combination with a closet-rod type of hook. The perpendicular orientation of the hook to the handle provides a configuration as follows: when the garment bag is secured to a carrier article of luggage via the HHA, the hangers within the garment bag rest in a plane parallel to a surface of the carrier luggage, creating a stable luggage set. The secured garment bag may be in either an extended or folded position. The HHA provides a method and system of storing the garment bag securely in many locations in addition to typical closet rods and carrier luggage articles.

The present embodiment is easily adaptable to many articles of luggage or other items, and allows the traveler to easily and comfortably shift from transporting the garment bag by hand, to placing the garment bag in a temporary storage position such as on the back of chair or other location, or piggybacking the garment bag by the hook/handle assembly or HHA to a wheeled luggage case.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 illustrates a prior art garment bag.

Fig. 2 is an illustration of a front left-side perspective view of the present embodiment in use with a wheeled carrier article of luggage.

Fig. 3 is a left-side view of the present embodiment in combination with a wheeled carrier article of luggage.

Fig. 4 is a close-up front right-side perspective view of the combination hook/handle luggage assembly (HHA).

Fig. 5 is an illustration demonstrating different uses for the HHA.

Fig. 6 is a back view of the HHA with its hook portion engaging a wall bracket.

Fig. 7 is a close-up left-side view of the HHA.

Fig. 8 is a close-up back view of the HHA gripping a tow-handle.

Fig. 9 is a left-side view of the HHA shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a right-side view of the HHA shown in Fig 8.

Fig. 11 shows examples of handle grips to which the HHA can be mated.

Fig. 12 is a perspective bottom view of the HHA.

Fig. 13 is a perspective top view of the HHA.

Fig. 14 is a right-side view of the HHA affixed to a garment sleeve.

Fig. 15 is a back view of the assembly shown in Fig 14 with the hook portion facing down.

Fig. 16 shows an assembly with additional fasteners.

Fig. 17 is an illustration of a back left-side perspective view of another manifestation of the present embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 is an illustration of a previous design with intent to create an easy-to- carry garment bag. As shown, over-sized hook portions of specially designed hangers project through a slot at the top edge of the garment sleeve, but provide a relatively uncomfortable carry handle. There is no provision for storing the garment bag on a handle of a wheeled luggage case, or for storing the garment bag except by hanging it from the hook portion of the special hangers.

The present embodiment is shown in figures 2 through 16, with an alternate embodiment being displayed in figure 17. Referring to figure 2, the combination hook/handle luggage assembly (HHA) 4 is attached to a folded or doubled garment bag 2, that normally holds one or more garments on ordinary hangers therein, the hangers being stored on a storing mechanism affixed to the garment bag such as a conventional loop of webbing, leather strap or clamp (not shown), a built-in rod which may be extendable, or other means. Garment bag 2 is in turn attached to a host or carrier article, such as wheeled luggage case 1 , using the HHA 4. The luggage case 1 is maneuvered by operating a steering or guiding device, such as a tow handle assembly 11. In the present embodiment, the HHA 4 is permanently affixed to garment bag 2. It should, however, be obvious to one skilled in the art that the HHA 4 could be applied to any type of vessel or carrying device, including garment bags, garment sleeves, totes, cosmetic bags, backpacks, computer bags, messenger bags, and so on. It should also be obvious to one skilled in the art that the HHA 4 could be manufactured as a separate piece and could be used to retrofit any such bag or be transferred from one bag to another. The HHA 4 can

be attached to the garment bag 2 temporarily by any means including snaps, Velcro, and so on, or the HHA may be more permanently attached to the garment bag by sewing methods, glue, or other methods. As can be seen in figure 3, a benefit of the HHA 4 is that it provides a traveler the option of fully extending the garment bag 2, thereby preserving the contents therein. Of course, garment bag 2 can be folded in more than one section to conserve space. In this way, the HHA 4 provides multiple methods of toting a garment bag 2 or other carried bag, including being toted by a receiving surface 12 (such as the grip of a tow handle) that can house or carry the HHA 4 whether the tow handle is extended partially or fully from the wheeled luggage case 1 or retracted fully therein.

Turning to figure 4, the HHA 4 is an injection-molded continuous part that includes a handle portion 6, and a hook portion 8 that is placed in perpendicular alignment to handle portion 6, such that when HHA is either hung by hook portion 8 or stored and/or carried by handle portion 6, the article of luggage to which the HHA is attached can simply hang from the HHA. Of course, the hook portion 8 and handle portion 6 could be manufactured as separate pieces that are attached to one another using hinge, swivel pin, or other methods, but a benefit of creating one continuous part is ease of manufacturing, as well as stability, strength, and durability. A further advantage of using injection molding practices is that recycling methods can be used in the construction of the HHA — that is, it can be made from recycled plastic.

A benefit of the present embodiment is that the orientation of the garment bag 2 remains flush with the article by which garment bag 2 is being carried. A further benefit of the present embodiment is the ease by which its design allows the traveler to choose

between using the hook portion 8 and the handle portion 6. The HHA 4 may be of rigid construction. Alternatively, HHA 4 could be made of a more flexible material. A benefit of retaining a degree of rigidity is that this provides a fitted, contoured mating between interior surface 22 of handle 6. Receiving surface 12 can comprise the outer surface or grip of the tow handle head. A secondary receiving surface 14a could comprise an inner surface or grip of a hollow tow handle grip (Fig. 17) of a secondary tow handle assembly l la. Tow handle assembly 11 can comprise any configuration including tow handle head shapes of any size, shape, texture, and dimension.

Alternatively, receiving surface 12 could comprise the backs of chairs, the tops of doors, oddly shaped door handles, banisters, railings, the edge of a table, and any other surface suited to receiving the handle portion 6 of HHA 4. Examples of uses of the HHA 4 are shown in figure 5. Starting from the top illustration shown in figure 5 moving clockwise, the HHA 4 can be stored by engaging the grip of a tow handle assembly 11 with handle 6, stored in multiple locations by hanging from hook 8, or grasped and/or carried by the handle 6 by the hand of the traveler. Handle 6 can comprise cushioning foam, rubber, or other material to increase the comfort and/or grip of the traveler. A benefit of the present embodiment is that many uses can be implemented simply by rotating the device of the HHA 4 approximately 180°.

The hook portion 8 can be used to hang the garment bag or other article to which the HHA 4 is attached, or the hook may be held and/or carried by the traveler as shown in figures 5 and 7. Handle 6 comprises a form-fitted, contoured interior surface 22 suited to grasp the tow handle head 12 of a wheeled luggage 1. The versatile shape of handle 6

allows tor its engagement to single-tube tow handle heads 12, double-tube tow handle heads 14, or other surfaces as shown in figure 11.

Of course, the shape, material composition, and dimensions of any portion of the hook/handle assembly 4 or the HHA in its entirety can vary. The handle 6 and hook 8 portions can be altered, depending upon the intended use of the hook handle assembly 4. For example, hook 8 could vary in thickness and shape to suit various types of receiving surfaces. Handle portion 6 could comprise soft material such as textile that could wrap around a receiving surface. Hook portion 8 could also comprise soft material, in the form of a loop of material, that could wrap around pegs in order to still function as a hanger.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate several uses of hook 8. As shown in figure 6, the HHA 4 need simply be flipped about its central axis to switch quickly back and forth between using the hook portion or the handle portion. In figures 8, 9, and 10, the handle 6 neatly projects upwardly, while the hook portion 8 now lies flat against garment bag 2.

Turning now to figures 12 and 13, the combination hook/handle assembly 4 is comprised of a one-piece molded part, having a bridge portion 16 that adjoins hook portion 8 and handle portion 6 with an interior gripping portion 22 and a slot 7 for access to the typical tow handle operating buttons when the device 4 is suspended from such a tow handle (See Figures 8, 9, and 10.) Bridge portion 16 has an enlarged central shape and contains two slots 24 for receiving a strap 18 or other mechanism fed there through to attach the HHA 4 to an item of luggage such as garment bag 2.

The HHA 4 is attached to the garment bag 2 by a strap 18 attached to garment bag 2 near an upper portion thereof. The strap is threaded through bridge portion 16 via slots 24 (Figs. 14 and 15). The size and shape of slots 24 could be varied or be made

adjustable to receive a cord such as a bungee cord to which the garment bag 2 is fastened. The strap 18 slides through the slots 24. This permits the user to easily flip either the hook 8 or handle 6 to the correct position for use while simultaneously and automatically moving the unused handle 6 or hook 8 out of the way.

Garment bag 2 can be further secured to wheeled luggage 1 with fasteners 20 as shown in figure 16. Of course, other fastening mechanisms could be used to achieve this redundant attachment, such as hook and loop fasteners, buttons and loops, and so on.

Another embodiment of the hook/handle assembly 4 can be seen in figure 17. Here, a rod-shaped HHA 4a is mated with a hollow receiving surface 14a, a hollow grip portion of tow handle assembly 11a. Here, the handle portion of an alternative embodiment of a hanger assembly fits neatly in the grip 14a. European Patent number EP0872200B1 filed April 3, 1998 entitled, "Folding Hanger System for Luggage" is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Although the present embodiment discusses a handle of a substantially fixed width or internal surface area that may have a degree of flex allowing for engagement of varying-sized surfaces, one could visualize a handle designed to accommodate/traverse objects of varying dimensions. The handle could be manufactured in various fixed dimensions or built to be adjustable. Such variability could be achieved by a system of slots and pins, a substantially flexible handle, a substantially softer handle, or any other means.

While it is currently contemplated that the present embodiment of the combination hook/handle luggage assembly be affixed to a garment bag or garment sleeve, such an assembly could be used on other articles of luggage including small totes,

cosmetic bags, or any other secondary article oi luggage that a traveler may want to attach to the handle of another article of luggage or another container, vessel, or tote in general.

Although various embodiments of this device have been described above with a certain degree of particularity or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to those disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this device. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only of particular embodiments, and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the basic elements of the device as defined in the following claims.