EP0735833B1 - Device for carrying loads - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/FR93/01291 Sec. 371 Date Jun. 24, 1996 Sec. 102(e) Date Jun. 24, 1996 PCT Filed Dec. 22, 1993 PCT Pub. No. WO95/17114 PCT Pub. Date Jun. 29, 1995A grip for carrying bags having loop handles, or other loads, includes an elongate central body or grip with ends shaped to form hooks for carrying the bag or other loads. The central body is flexible so that it can bend under the weight of a load hanging from or hooked onto its hook-shaped ends.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for facilitate the carrying of bags with handles, or other loads such as bundles of cords, cans of paint, ski boots, etc., which can be hung said device.

We have already proposed (FR-A-1.356.457, FIG. 1), a handle for easy carrying of light packages closed by a link, consisting of a wooden tube or in cardboard through which a metal rod passes ending, at each of its ends, with a hook, so that you can hang the string around the package to be transported.

• dans le cas où le tube est en bois, le portage est relativement inconfortable dû, notamment, à la rigidité de son corps central, lequel n'engendre aucun effet amortisseur lors de la marche, les chocs découlant des oscillations de la marche à pied du porteur étant intégralement transmis à la main et au bras de ce dernier, ces chocs favorisant en outre le déchirement intempestif des sacs suspendus ;
• la difficulté à trouver un équilibre, notamment en cas de répartition inégale des charges aux extrémités de la poignée, en raison de la rectitude de son corps central rigide et de la position invariable des points de suspension desdites charges, la main du porteur se trouvant, de ce fait, constamment sollicitée pour s'opposer à ce déséquilibre ;
• si l'on considère que, pour des raisons économiques, le tube sera exécuté en carton, l'application d'une charge trop lourde à ses extrémités peut entraíner le fléchissement irréversible du carton et même son déchirement, avec de fâcheuses conséquences possibles pour la main du porteur mise alors en contact avec le fil métallique (cisaillement des doigts).

This handle made of two heteroclyte materials (wood / metal or cardboard / metal) has the following drawbacks:

• in the case where the tube is made of wood, the carrying is relatively uncomfortable due, in particular, to the rigidity of its central body, which does not generate any damping effect during walking, the shocks arising from the oscillations of walking on the carrier being fully transmitted to the hand and to the arm of the latter, these shocks further promoting untimely tearing of the hanging bags;
• the difficulty in finding a balance, in particular in the event of uneven distribution of the loads at the ends of the handle, due to the straightness of its rigid central body and the invariable position of the suspension points of said loads, the hand of the carrier being, therefore, constantly called upon to oppose this imbalance;
• if we consider that, for economic reasons, the tube will be made of cardboard, the application of too heavy a load at its ends can lead to the irreversible bending of the cardboard and even its tearing, with unfortunate possible consequences for the hand of the wearer then brought into contact with the metal wire (shearing of the fingers).

To remedy this last drawback, the document FR-A- 388.910 proposes a handle always made of heteroclyte materials, but part of which central is made of flexible material, leather. However, the leather flexibility is limited, so that after several uses of the handle under loads important it no longer resumes its original form. In in addition, it does not allow any shock absorption caused by the wearer's walking.

The object of the invention is in particular to remedy the disadvantages and inadequacies of carrying handles described in the above documents.

According to the invention, this object is achieved thanks to a carrying handle, the central body of which forms the handle itself is made of a material with of an elastic deformation capacity, and in that said body comprises two superimposed parts or branches and spaced flexible, separated by an opening elongated extending between the terminal areas constituting hooks.

The carrying handle with the features above provides many advantages.

The flexibility or elasticity of the handle provides, on the one hand, exceptional comfort during transport charges, and confers, on the other hand, a very high stability to the handle when it is in charge.

Comfort comes from the flexibility of the part central which acts as a shock absorber, and which thus considerably reduces the shocks caused, in particular, by the oscillations of the walking of a user.

This characteristic thus makes it possible to eliminate times the pain caused to the hands by the handles, and the risk of inadvertent tearing of the bags.

Stability is acquired by the curvature of the handle which takes the form of an inverted "U" under load, which allows to shift the application points of the 3 parallel but opposite forces which are exerted on the handle, namely: 2 forces vertical downwards at the ends, and a vertical force directed upwards in the center.

This offset creates a force polygon whose the balance will be all the more stable as the loads will be heavy and therefore the significant curvature and even in case of uneven load distribution.

The handle cannot snap due to the fact that in case of suspension of too heavy loads at its ends, it is the stop or one of the branches which will break in the first place, so the wearer will be alerted and will have time to put the bags on the ground before the handle is completely broken.

The handle can be placed comfortably on the forearm, or on the shoulder "slung", which allows at least one free hand, for example to open a door, or to hold the hand of a child, etc.

The handle according to the invention can be executed in any plastic material having semi-rigidity and desirable flexibility and it is very openwork, so its weight can be reduced to around twenty of grams while being very solid.

La figure 1 est une vue de face du dispositif de portage selon l'invention.

La figure 2 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 2-2 de la figure 1.

La figure 3 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne 3-3 de la figure 1.

La figure 4 est une vue de face illustrant un exemple d'utilisation de ce dispositif de portage aux extrémités duquel sont suspendus des sacs munis d'anses.

The aims, characteristics and advantages above and others still will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and from the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the carrying device according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a front view illustrating an example of use of this carrying device at the ends of which are suspended bags provided with handles.

Reference is made to said drawings to describe a interesting example of execution, although by no means limiting, of the carrying device according to the invention.

This carrying device or handle comprises, in known manner, an elongated central body 1 constituting the handle proper and whose terminal parts are shaped so symmetrical to constitute hooks 2 whose inputs 3 are preferably oriented upwards, in direction of the central part of said handle.

According to a first provision characteristic of the invention, the central body 1 forming a handle is flexible, which means it can bend under the weight of a load suspended or attached to its parts hook-shaped terminals.

Advantageously, the carrying device is in one piece and can be executed in any material suitable semi-rigid with flexibility or elasticity required. For example, it can be molded in one piece in a plastic material or in a semi-rigid and flexible composite material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene copolymer, polyamide, etc.

According to another characteristic provision, the central body or handle itself 1 has a curved or arcuate shape with oriented convexity upwards considering the functional position or normal use position of the device. According to the advantageous embodiment it is glossy, the bulge of the central body defines as follows, from its apogee 0, two opposite slopes 4 ending, respectively, at entry 3 in brackets 2. This layout greatly promotes engagement of handles bags in the hooks 2, the handles sliding in effect naturally towards entry 3 of said hooks when placed on the top surface convex 4-4 of the central body 1.

According to another characteristic provision, the central body or handle itself 1, includes two superimposed flexible parts or branches 5 and 6 and spaced apart, separated by an elongated opening 7 extending between the terminal areas constituting the hooks 2.

The internal face of at least one of the branches 5, 6 is provided with a stop 8 arranged projecting from said internal face and oriented towards the face internal of the other branch. A space E separates, in rest position, the free edge of the stop 8 and the internal face of said other branch. According to the example illustrated, this stop 8 is arranged in the portion central of the lower branch 6 and it has, preferably an elongated shape and a free edge convex 8a on which the face can rest internal concave of the upper branch. We could, of course, provide for a reverse arrangement, that is to say a stop integral with the internal face of the upper branch 5 and having a free edge concave likely to lean on the internal face convex of the lower branch 6.

It is understood that when the central body 1 thus realized bends under the weight of suspended loads at the hooks 2 of the device, the bending of this is limited by the stop 8 against the edge upper 8a from which the face is supported internal of the upper branch 5 of said central body, as shown in figure 4. In this way, the handle does not not take a curvature making its portage uncomfortable, and she can perfectly fill her shock absorber function.

The stop 8 preferably has a thickness much narrower than the width of the branch 6, as shown in Figure 2, which allows a gain of weight and material savings, without harming the solidity of the handle.

As a simple example, we indicate that the handle according to the invention may have a length of about 190 mm, a width of about 20 mm in its central part, a spacing of around 17 mm between its branches 5 and 6 which may have a thickness of the order of 2 to 3 mm.

Each terminal part of the device or hook 2 forms a loop from the end of the central body and going up above this end by delimiting a housing 9 for the handles A of bags S, or for links or other parts of the loads transported, the free end portion 10 of the hook extending over the end of said body central.

The end of the free terminal part 10 of hooks 2 deviates from the upper convex surface 4 of the central body 1, so as to present an entry 3 whose walls converge towards the bottom of the housing 9, which is delimited by a surface having a rounded profile.

In its part closest to the surface upper 4 of the central body 1, the terminal part free 10 of the hooks 2 is provided, on its internal face, of a rounded boss 11 which is practically in contact with said upper surface. The elasticity of material in which the device is executed allows to separate the free end portion 10 from the hooks 2 to allow the passage of the handles of bags, links or other attachment parts, when engaged in the housings 9 or when they are removed from these housing. However, the bosses 11 oppose effectively at the unwanted exit of the bag handles, links or other attachment parts retained in the housings 9, which allows in particular to keep the bags closed and prevents their contents from spilling unfortunately, when placed on the ground or in a motor car.

Equivalently, the bosses 11 could be provided on the upper surface 4 of the ends of the central body 1, facing the internal surface of the free end portion 10 of the hooks 2.

Claims (8)

1. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, comprising an elongate central body (1), or handle proper, the end portions of which are configured so as to constitute hooks (2) which make it possible to suspend said bags or diverse loads, said central body being made out of a material that has the ability to be elastically deformed, characterised in that said central body, or handle proper, (1) comprises two flexible parts or arms (5, 6) spaced apart one above the other and separated by an elongate opening (7) which extends between the end zones that constitute the hooks (2).
2. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to claim 1, characterised in that the central body (1) or handle proper presents a bent or arc-shaped form of which the curvature (4-4) is orientated upwards in consideration of the functional position or position in which said handle is normally used.
3. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to claim 2, characterised in that the entrances (3) of the hooks (2) are orientated upwards in the direction of the median part of the central body (1), and in that the upper surface of the latter defines, from its highest point (0), two opposing slopes (4-4) which respectively terminate at the entrance (3) of said hooks (2).
4. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that at least one (6) of the arms (5, 6) is equipped on its inner face with a stop (8) which is arranged so as to project from said inner face and is orientated in the direction of the inner face of the other arm (5), a space (E) separating, when at rest, the free edge (8a) of said stop and the inner face of said other arm.
5. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to claim 4, characterised in that the stop (8) is provided on the inner face of the lower arm (6) of the central body (1).
6. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to claim 5, characterised in that the stop (8) is disposed in the central portion of the lower arm (6) of the central body (1) and presents a convex upper free edge (8a).
7. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to any of claims 1 to 6, the hooks (2) of which present an entrance (3) orientated upwards, in the direction of the median part of the central body (1), characterised in that the walls (10, 4) which delimit said entrance converge in the direction of the base of the receptacle (9) delimited by said hooks (2).
8. Porterage handle for bags equipped with bails, or for diverse loads, according to any of claims 1 to 7, the hooks (2) of which present an entrance (3) orientated upwards, in the direction of the median part of the central body (1), and delimited by the free end portion (10) of said hooks which extends above the end of said central body (1), characterised in that the inner face of said free end part (10) is equipped with a boss (11) which is in contact with the upper surface (4) of the end of the central body.

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