Pivotal handle for towable baggage

Abstract

A towing member for a piece of towable baggage is provide with towing handle that is pivotal relative to an arm portion of the towing member. The pivotal relation of the towing handle and the arm potion enables the towing handle to be rotated into a position where a person can grasp the towing handle in a comfortable position by his or her side when the piece of baggage is being towed and also improves the maneuverability of a towable piece of baggage by reducing the need for a person to twist his or her wrist when steering the piece of baggage. The invention also allows the towing handle of retractable towing members to be pivoted into an appropriate position relative to the piece of baggage such that the towing handle lies flush with the baggage and will not become snagged on other items.

What is claimed:  
     
         1 . A towing member for hand towing a piece of baggage, the towing member comprising: 
 a towing handle;    an arm portion operatively connected to the towing handle, the arm portion being configure and adapted to secure the towing handle to a piece of baggage;    a pivot mechanism connecting the towing handle to the arm portion in a manner that allows the towing handle to be pivoted about a pivot axis relative to at least a sub portion of the arm portion, the sub portion of the arm portion being spaced from and external of the piece of baggage when the towing handle is secured to the piece of baggage via the arm portion; and    a locking mechanism that is operatively connected to the towing handle and the arm portion and that is selectively moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position relative to the arm portion, the locking mechanism limiting the pivoting of the towing handle about the pivot axis relative to the sub portion of the arm portion when in the locked position and not so limiting the pivoting of the towing handle about the pivot axis relative to the sub portion of the arm portion when in the unlocked position.    
     
     
         2 . The towing member of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the arm portion is movable between extended and retracted positions when the arm portion is attached to a piece of baggage such that the towing handle is closer to the piece of baggage when the arm is in the retracted position than when the arm is in the extended position.    
     
     
         3 . The towing member of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 the towing member further comprises a release button and the arm portion is selectively lockable in the extended and retracted positions such that the release button must be pressed to move the arm portion between the extended and retracted positions, the release button also being configured and adapted to move the locking mechanism from the locked position to the unlocked position when the release button is pressed.    
     
     
         4 . The towing member of  claim 3 , wherein: 
 the release button is provided on the towing handle.    
     
     
         5 . The towing member of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the pivot mechanism allows the towing handle to rotate at least 360° about the pivot axis relative to the sub portion of the arm portion.    
     
     
         6 . The towing member of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the towing handle is T-shaped and has an elongated hand grip with opposite ends and a stem that intersects and projects from the hand grip intermediate the hand grip opposite ends, and the pivot axis passes through the stem and is generally perpendicular to the hand grip of the towing handle.    
     
     
         7 . A piece of towable baggage comprising: 
 a baggage portion having an internal compartment;    at least two wheels mounted to the baggage portion for rotation about a wheel axis relative to the baggage portion;    a towing member in accordance with  claim 1 , the pivot axis being generally perpendicular to the wheel axis.