Handheld electronic luggage scale

• US 8,884,170 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2010
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heys International Ltd.
• Original Assignee: 2395954 Ontario Incorporated
• Inventors: Sheikh, Haroon
• Primary Examiner(s): Gibson, Randy W
• Application Number:
  US12/842,867
• Publication Number:
  US 20110186356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 177/131, 177/148, 177/149, 177/238, D10/87, D10/89
• US Class Current: 177/148
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/414 using electronic computing means only
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/52 Weighing apparatus combined with other objects, e.g. furniture with walking sticks A45B3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/58 combined with handles of suit-cases or trunks
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 21/28 Frames, Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 21/283 Details related to a user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/36 Indicating the weight by electrical means, e.g. using photoelectric cells

Abstract

A hand-held electronic luggage scale includes a handle designed to be held generally horizontally, and a hook supported by the handle, which extends generally vertically below the handle. The handle houses an electronic scale, the electronic scale connected to the hook for calculating a weight of an object suspended from the hook. The hook may be metal and have a rubber and/or plastic exterior. A touch screen display may be provided in a top surface of the handle that displays the calculated weight from the electronic scale component. The touch screen display may include an icon representing a virtual control button that controls a user-selectable setting, and provides haptic feedback when the user-selectable setting changes due to a user pressing the virtual control button for a predetermined period of time. The touch screen display may include icons that control power, illumination, units of measurement, and/or other functionality.

Claims

1. A handheld electronic luggage scale comprising:

a handle;

a luggage hook attachment that is centrally located on a bottom surface of the handle, the luggage hook attachment protruding from the bottom surface of the handle in a downward direction, wherein the luggage hook attachment is funnel-shaped and tapers so that a radius of the luggage hook attachment is greater in the vicinity of the interconnection of the luggage hook attachment with the bottom surface and smaller in the vicinity of a bottom tip of the luggage hook attachment, and wherein the handle is symmetrically shaped to allow a user to grasp the handle to either or both sides of the luggage hook attachment;

a connector housed within the luggage hook attachment with an opening at one end, wherein the one end of the connector is spaced apart from the bottom surface of the handle by the luggage hook attachment so that the user'"'"'s fingers grasping the handle do not contact the one end of the connector;

a curved hook having a diameter sized to be accepted by the opening of the connector such that the curved hook is supported by the connector and extends generally vertically below the handle; and

an electronic scale housed within the handle, the electronic scale interconnected with the curved hook via the connector for calculating a weight of an object suspended from the curved hook, wherein a touch screen display is provided on a surface of the handle, the touch screen display being configured to display (1) the calculated weight from the electronic scale component, and (2) an icon representing a virtual control button, the virtual control button being configured to adjust a user-selectable setting when the user touches the icon representing the virtual control button for a predetermined period of time.

2. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the handle is curved from the luggage hook attachment centrally located on the bottom surface of the handle to both longitudinal ends of the bottom surface to provide an ergonomic support for the user to lift the object to be weighed.

3. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 1, wherein the touch screen display is provided on a top surface of the handle, the virtual control button is a virtual on/off button, and the predetermined period of time is a few seconds.

4. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 3 wherein the touch screen display includes a second icon representing a second virtual control button that is configured to switch units of measurement of the object being weighed.

5. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 1, wherein the touch screen display includes a battery gauge.

6. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 1, wherein the touch screen display is configured to change colors.

7. A handheld electronic luggage scale comprising:

a handle;

an electronic scale component configured to weigh an object, the handle acting as a housing for the electronic scale component;

a luggage hook attachment that is centrally located between a first and a second longitudinal end of the handle, the luggage hook attachment protruding from a bottom surface of the handle in a downward direction, wherein the luggage hook attachment is funnel-shaped and tapers so that a radius of the luggage hook attachment is greater in the vicinity of the interconnection of the luggage hook attachment with the bottom surface and smaller in the vicinity of a bottom tip of the luggage hook attachment, and wherein the bottom surface of the handle is curved on either side of the luggage hook attachment to provide an ergonomic support for a user to lift the object to be weighed;

a connector housed within the luggage hook attachment with an opening at one end, the one end of the connector with the opening extending below the luggage hook attachment, wherein the one end of the connector is spaced apart from the bottom surface of the handle by the luggage hook attachment so that the user'"'"'s fingers grasping the handle do not contact the one end of the connector;

a curved hook having a diameter sized to be accepted by the opening of the connector such that the curved hook is supported by the connector and interconnected with the electronic scale component via the connector, the curved hook extending generally vertically below the handle; and

a touch screen display provided in a top surface of the handle, wherein the touch screen display is configured to display a calculated weight of the object being lifted via the curved hook from the electronic scale component, the touch screen display includes an icon representing a virtual control button that (1) controls a user-selectable setting, and (2) provides at least one of auditory, visual, and haptic feedback when the user-selectable setting changes due to the user pressing the virtual control button for a predetermined period of time.

8. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 7, wherein the curved hook comprises a large hook portion having a bottom curved hook extending at least approximately 180 degrees radially, the bottom curved hook configured to hook a handle or strap on the object.

9. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 8, wherein the curved hook comprises a small hook portion having a top curved hook extending from the large hook portion, the vertical alignment of the small hook portion and the vertical alignment of the large hook portion being approximately 90 degrees offset with respect to each other.

10. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 7, wherein the touch screen display includes two icons representing two virtual control buttons, each of the two virtual control buttons being configured to change an associated user-selectable setting.

11. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 7, wherein the virtual control button is a virtual on/off button, and the predetermined period of time is a few seconds.

12. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 7, wherein the virtual control button is configured to change a unit of measurement of the weight of the object being weighed by the electronic scale component.

13. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 7, wherein the user-selectable setting changes a background color of the touch screen display.

14. A handheld electronic luggage scale, comprising:

a handle comprising top and bottom surfaces, and extending along a longitudinal length between first and second longitudinal ends, and further comprising a luggage hook attachment that is centrally located on the bottom surface between the first and second longitudinal ends, the luggage hook attachment protruding downwardly from the bottom surface, the luggage hook attachment being funnel-shaped and tapering so that a radius of the luggage hook attachment is greater in the vicinity of the interconnection of the luggage hook attachment with the bottom surface and smaller in the vicinity of a bottom tip of the luggage hook attachment, the bottom surface of the handle being curved from the luggage hook attachment along the longitudinal length to both the first and second longitudinal ends to provide an ergonomic support for a user to lift an object to be weighed, and the handle is symmetrically shaped about the luggage hook attachment to allow the user to grasp the handle to either or both sides of the luggage hook attachment;

a connector housed within the luggage hook attachment and comprising a lower end that extends below the bottom tip of the luggage hook attachment, the luggage hook attachment providing physical separation between the bottom surface of the handle and the lower end of the connector so that the user'"'"'s fingers grasping the handle do not contact the lower end of the connector;

a luggage hook for suspending the object to be weighted, the luggage hook coupled to the lower end of the connector and extending generally vertically below the handle;

an electronic scale component housed within the handle, the electronic scale component coupled to the connector and configured to calculate a weight of the object suspended from the luggage hook; and

a display arranged on the top surface of the handle, the display configured to display the weight of the object calculated by the electronic scale components,

wherein the display is a touch screen display, the touch screen display comprising a virtual control button, the virtual control button being configured to change a user-selectable setting of the handheld electronic luggage scale when the user presses the virtual control button for a predetermined period of time.

15. The handheld electronic luggage scale of claim 14, wherein the virtual control button is a virtual on/off-button, and the predetermined period of time is a few seconds.