Extendible handle assembly for wheeled luggage

Claim 1

An extendible handle assembly for wheeled luggage comprising: a) a pair of cylindrical members for mounting to the luggage, each cylindrical member having a first central axis and a longitudinal hole extending therethrough, the longitudinal hole having a second central axis that is skewed with respect to the first central axis; b) a tubular member having a first and concentrically engaged on each cylindrical member and forming a noncoaxial extension of the longitudinal hole; c) a pair of elastically deformable elongate bar members, each bar member including an upper end and a lower end, a handle means joining the upper ends and each lower end being provided with a friction sleeve thereon; d) each bar member being slidably received through a longitudinal hole to dispose the lower end within a tubular member and permit the bar members to be disposed between fully extended and fully retracted positions by respectively pulling and pushing the handle means; and e) wherein each longitudinal hole deforms each elongate bar member in alignment with the second central axis, thereby urging each friction sleeve into frictional engagement against an internal wall of the tubular member to permit the bar members to be maintained at any desired position between the fully extended and fully retracted positions.