Luggage handle having foldable extension to act as garment hanger

Abstract

A handle for use with a luggage includes an elongated body and at least two extendable arms that move from a closed first position wherein the arms substantially encompass the body to an open second position wherein the arms extend away from the body by means of a pivot that secures the body to the arms, thereby providing a device for hanging clothes. The body has a substantially isosceles trapezoid face wherein the narrower dimension is positioned toward a bottom of the handle and the wider dimension to the top of the handle, thereby providing ends of the body angled from around 10 to around 20 degrees from the vertical, and wherein the angled ends of the body include the pivot such that when the arms are in the second open position, the arms are angled downwards.

1 . A handle for use with luggage, comprising:
 an elongate body; and   at least two extendable arms that move from a closed first position wherein the arms substantially encompass the body to an open second position wherein the arms extend away from the body by means of a pivot that secures the body to the arms, thereby providing a device for hanging clothes;   wherein the body has a substantially isosceles trapezoid face wherein a narrower dimension is positioned toward a bottom of the handle and a wider dimension is positioned toward the top of the handle, thereby providing ends of the body angled from around 10 to around 20 degrees from the vertical, and wherein the angled ends of the body comprise the pivot such that when the arms are in the second open position, the arms are angled downwards.   
     
     
         2 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the ends of the body are angled at around 15 degrees from the vertical. 
     
     
         3 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the angle of the arms is between approximately 20 and 40 degrees to the horizontal. 
     
     
         4 . The handle of  claim 3 , wherein the angle of the arms is approximately 30 degrees to the horizontal. 
     
     
         5 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the arms laterally extend around the elongate body when in the closed first position. 
     
     
         6 . The handle of  claim 5 , wherein the arms laterally extend around the elongate body towards the top of the elongate body to substantially encompass the elongate body from both sides. 
     
     
         7 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the arms are positioned symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the handle in the open second position. 
     
     
         8 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the arms are substantially identically sized. 
     
     
         9 . The handle of  claim 8 , wherein the arms have a substantially identical shape. 
     
     
         10 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the pivot is a hinge. 
     
     
         11 . The handle of  claim 10 , wherein the hinges are tension hinges. 
     
     
         12 . The handle of  claim 1 , further comprising a fastener arranged to hold the arms in the first closed position. 
     
     
         13 . The handle of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one grip portion. 
     
     
         14 . The handle of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one grip portion is a rubberised grip portion. 
     
     
         15 . The handle of  claim 1 , wherein the arms each have a substantially orthogonally extending end portion. 
     
     
         16 . The handle of  claim 15 , wherein the end portions are rounded. 
     
     
         17 . The handle of  claim 1 , which is suitable for retrofitting to an item of luggage after manufacture thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The handle of  claim 17 , including an attachment mechanism to allow the handle to be attached to an existing handle of an item of luggage. 
     
     
         19 . An item of luggage including the handle of  claim 1 .