Patent 7936562 was granted and assigned to Panasonic on May, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In a grip device of the present invention, shielding members are placed in the openings of a handle in which arm members are to be arranged, respectively. This can make it difficult for a foreign matter to enter the handle via the openings. The presence of the shielding members can prevent a foreign matter from being caught between the handle and each of the arm members when the handle is moved from the extended position to the retracted position, resulting in a smooth movement of the handle.