IE45567B1 - Improvements in or relating to adjustable length handles for tools - Google Patents

Abstract

A respective cap (3, 4) is arranged on an inner (1) and an outer (2) tubular part of the guide handle. The first cap (3) bears on the inner surface (5) of the inner tubular part (1) and extends outwards over the end surface (6). In contrast, the second cap (4) bears against the outer surface (7) of the outer tubular part (2) and extends inwards over the end surface (8). Arranged in the first cap (3) is an actuating lug (9) which cooperates with rams (10, 11). Said rams extend through openings (12, 12', 13, 13'), in the first cap (3) and in the inner tubular part (1). The longitudinal adjustment of the guide handle can thus take place in the simplest manner possible by way of the release button (9) using the hand holding the handle, an unintentional, relative displacement of the tubular parts being excluded.

Description

This invention relates to adjustable length handles for tools.

According to the present invention, there is provided an adjustable length handle for a too.l, the handle including an outer and an inner tube section that can be displaced telescopically one within the other, the inner tube section having a sleeve extending around the end of this tube section that is inside the outer tube section and the sleeve having a part disposed between the two tube sections, extending inside the inner tube section and carrying an operating meniber which is resiliently actuable to urge a rod to extend through an opening in said inner tube section and through an opening in said outer tube section to lock the two tube sections releasably together.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a tool in the form of a suction cleaner, the suction cleaner having an adjustable length guiding handle which can be collapsed telescopically, Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of part of one form of adjustable length handle in one condition, - 2 4S56Y Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the adjustable length handle in another condition, Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing part of a second form of adjustable length handle.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the second form of adjustable length handle, Figure 6 is a sectional view through part of the grip of the adjustable length handle of either the first or second embodiments, and Figure 7 is a detail cross-sectional view showing two tube sections of the adjustable handle of either the first or second embodiments.

The handles to be described are particularly suited for guiding handles for floor-care appliances. Figure 1 shows a suction cleaner 31 with a guiding handle 32. The guiding handle 32 is capable of being collapsed telescopically by means of a release button 15, which is arranged on a hand grip 33. A second position of the guiding handle 32 is shown in broken lines. In this way, the guiding handle 32 can be adapted to any particular working requirement.

One way in which the sliding of the parts of the guiding handle 32 into one another is effected is shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 2 shows that section of the guiding handle 32 which contains the means to allow telescoping of the handle. An inner tube section 1 is slidable in an outer tube section 2. Sleeves 3 and 4 respectively contact the internal surface 5 of the inner tube section 1 and the external surface 7 of the outer tube section 2, these sleeves respectively covering and extending beyond end faces 6 and 8 of the tube sections 1 and 2, respectively. The sleeve 3 is formed to carry an operating member which is resiliently actuable to urge a rod to extend through an opening in the inner tube section 1 and through an opening in the outer tube section 2 to lock the two tube sections releasably together. In the example shown in Figures 2 and 3, the operating member is in the form of a vane 9, which is provided with a tapered part 16, against which respective heads of plungers or rods and 11 are urged by coil compression springs 17, which each bear at one end on the - 3 «856-ΐ head of the rod 10, 11 and at the other end on the inner wall of the sleeve 3.

The rods 10 and 11 respectively pass through openings 12, 12' in the sleeve 3 and also through openings 13, 13' in the inner tube section 1 and can pass, as shown in Figure 2, through openings 34 in the outer tube section 2 to interlock the tube sections 1 and 2, the springs 17 acting to draw the rods 10 and 11 out of engagement with the outer tube section 2.

If now the vane 9 is moved by means of a shaft 14 within the handle 32 in the direction Y (Figure 3), then the rods 10, 11 slide on the surfaces 16 and are drawn inwardly by the springs 17. Thus, they free the previously interlocked tube sections 1 and 2 from one another. The tube section 1 is now capable of being moved both in the direction X and in the direction Y. A spring 22, which is arranged on the shaft 14 and which extends between a rear face of the sleeve 3 and a collar 21 on the shaft 14, becomes compressed with movement in the direction Y and draws the vane 9 in the direction X when the release button 15 is let go (see below), so that the surfaces 16 cause the rods 10 and 11 to press against the inner wall of the outer tube section 2 if the rods 10 and 11 have been moved by movement of the tube section 1 out of alignment with the openings 34. The tube section 1 can then be moved, together with the assembly comprising the shaft 14, vane 9, sleeve 3 and rods 10 and 11, in the direction Y until the rods engage in further openings positioned further down the tube section 2 remote from the sleeve 4 so that, for example, the handle can be locked in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

Sliding of the tube section 1 back in the direction Y causes the rods 10 and 11 to disengage from the lower openings and again to reach the openings 34, into which they are urged, to lock the tube sections 1 and 2 relatively to one another again. Accordingly, different lengths of guiding handle can be established. The vane 9 is also provided with tapered surfaces 9a. which can bear on tongues on the end of the sleeve 3 to prevent the vane 9 from being pulled further than necessary by the spring 22. - 4 .

Figures 4 and 5 show a second form of guiding handle in which the vane 9 is provided with slideways or slots 18 which converge on one another. In this embodiment also, a sleeve 3 is arranged in the inner tube section 1, while the end of the outer tube section 2 carries a sleeve 4. As in the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, the vane 9 is connected to an operating shaft 14. The rods 10 and 11 in this embodiment do not have the springs 17 but instead each have cams 19 by which they are engaged in respective slots 18 in the vane 9. If now the operating shaft 14 is moved in a direction to compress the spring 22, the slots 18 are so guided past the rods 10 and 11 that the cams 19 approach one another as the slots converge and thus the rods 10 and 11 are drawn inwardly towards each other. As a result, the rods 10 and 11 are pulled out of the respective openings 34 and the tube sections 1 and 2 are freed from one another.

Since the spring 22, as in the first embodiment, always tends to pull the vane 9 into the sleeve 3, the rods 10 and 11 are simultaneously forced outwardly by movement of the slots 18 and are pressed into a latching position as soon as they each coincide with an adjacent opening in the tube section 2.

Either embodiment can be provided with a U*shaped latching member 26, which is shown in Figures 4 and 5. The member 26 is provided in the tube section 1 adjacent the sleeve 3, which member 26, in the position in which the tube sections 1 and 2 are pulled furthest apart, latches by means of latching projections 27 through openings 28 in the inner tube section 1 and in recesses 29 in the outer tube section 2, so that the two tube sections are entrained with one another. In this way, complete pulling apart is prevented.

If the two tube sections 1 and 2 are to be intentionally separated from one another, projections 30 of the member 26, which projections project through respective apertures in the tube section 1, when the projections 27 are latched in the recesses 29, have to be pressed inwardly of the tube section 1, this movement drawing the projections 27 out of the recesses 29 and so the two tube sections 1 and 2 are freed from one another. As with the first embodiment, the vane 9 is provided with tapering surfaces 9a. - 5 δΰί Figure 6 shows a detail of the hand grip 33, which can be for either form of handle discussed. It can be seen that the operating shaft 14 extends from the vane 9 as far as the release knob or button 15 in the hand grip 33 and is connected to the knob 15 by means of an eye 36. Consequently, the shaft 14 can be moved backwards and forwards axially of the tube section 1 by means of the knob 15 to work the vane 9.

Figure 7 Illustrates the functioning of the two sleeves 3 and 4; only the sleeve 4 is shown, however, by way of example. The sleeve 4 is arranged on the external surface 7 of the outer tube section 2 and is hooked around the end face 8 of the tube section 2 so that the part 35 lies against the inner tube section 1. The sleeve 3 also has an end 35 (shown in Figure 5, for example), v/hich is hooked around the end face 6 of the tube section 1 so that it is sandwiched between the two tube sections, these arrangements assisting in guiding the tube section 1 through the tube section 2. The ends 35 are resilient and tend to press outwardly, but can also be compressed so that deviations in the two tube section diameters are absorbed.

It will be appreciated that the present adjustable length handles can comprise more than two tubular sections which are displaceable telescopically one within the other.

Claims (12)

1. An adjustable length handle for a tool, the handle including an outer and an inner tube section that can be displaced telescopically one within the other, the inner tube section having a sleeve extending around the end of this tube section that is inside the outer tube section and the sleeve having a part disposed between the two tube sections, extending inside the inner tube section and carrying an operating member which is resiliently actuable to urge a rod to extend through an opening in said inner tube section and through an opening in said outer tube section to lock the two tube sections releasably together.

2. A handle as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said operating member is connected to a shaft which extends through one of said tube sections as far as a release button 4356*7 provided on the handle to actuate said operating member.

3. A handle as claimed in Claim 2, wherein a spring is arranged on said shaft, which spring extends between a rear face of said sleeve of the inner tube section and a collar on the shaft.

4. A handle as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein said operating member is provided with tapered surfaces which can bear on tongues at a front end of said sleeve of said inner tube section to prevent the operating member from being drawn further than is necessary into the sleeve by said shaft.

5. A handle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein two said rods are provided which can extend through respective said openings in said inner tube section and through respective said openings in said outer tube section.

6. A handle as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said operating member is in the form of a vane with tapered surfaces against which said rods are adapted to bear.

7. A handle as claimed in Claim 6, wherein each said rod has a spring which is arranged to urge the rod into engagement with one of the last mentioned tapered surfaces.

8. A handle as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said operating member is in the form of a vane which is provided with slots which converge on one another, each said rod having a cam by which it is engaged in a respective said slot in the vane, the arrangement being such that movement of the vane axially of the handle will act to draw the rods in or out of said openings in said tube sections.

9. A handle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a latching member is provided in said inner tube section adjacent its sleeve, which member, in a position in which the two tube sections are pulled furthest apart, latches by means of projections through further openings in said inner tube section and in recesses in said outer tube section so that the two tube sections are entrained with one another to prevent complete pulling apart.

10. A handle as claimed in Claim 9, wherein said latch member has means to allow intentional separation of the tube sections from one another. - 7 as 5 67

11. An adjustable length handle for a tool, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

12. A floor-care appliance having a guiding handle which is an adjustable 5 length handle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.