U.S. patent application number 10/374330 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-16 for carrying assembly.
Invention is credited to Williams, Charles.
Application Number | 20030192927 10/374330 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28794439 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030192927 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Williams, Charles |
October 16, 2003 |
Carrying assembly
Abstract
The invention is an assembly for carrying a small item, such as
a cell telephone, on one's person. The assembly includes a male and
a female fixture, one of which is affixed to the small item (or its
carrying case) and the other of which is attached to a convenient
site, such as a person's belt, other article of clothing or the
dashboard of an automobile. The male fixture is inserted downwardly
into a "U" shaped opening in the female fixture and a spring bias
and a pair of detents hold the fixtures in engagement with each
other. When desired, the fixtures are separated from each other by
an upward pull sufficient to overcome the spring bias and allow the
male fixture to slide up and over the detents.
Inventors: |
Williams, Charles;
(Lansdale, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RICHARD O. CHURCH
19 WESTVIEW TERRACE
WOMELSDORF
PA
19567
US
|
Family ID: |
28794439 |
Appl. No.: |
10/374330 |
Filed: |
February 27, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60371878 |
Apr 12, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
224/269 ;
224/271; 224/930 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F 2005/026 20130101;
A45F 2200/0516 20130101; A45F 5/021 20130101; A45F 5/02
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
224/269 ;
224/271; 224/930 |
International
Class: |
A45F 005/00 |
Claims
1. A carrying assembly for hand held articles including a male
fixture and a female fixture, one of which fixtures is adapted for
attachment to the article and the other of which is adapted for
attachment to a convenient carrying site: the male fixture includes
an attachment bracket and a connecting stud mounted on and normal
to the surface of the attachment bracket; the connecting stud has a
shoulder portion axially extending from the attachment bracket to a
securing flange of greater diameter than the shoulder mounted on
the distal end of the shoulder, the female fixture includes a
securing receptacle attached to a spring plate, the securing
receptacle defines a "U" shaped slot extending from a lower portion
of the securing receptacle in an upwardly and outwardly flared
direction terminating at the open end of the "U", the slotted
opening is large enough to receive the stud shoulder but small
enough to restrict the passage of the securing flange of the stud;
the securing receptacle has detents extending toward the spring
plate, the detents being located on opposite sides of the "U"
shaped slot at points spaced above the bottom of the "U" and below
the open end of the "U"; the detents being separated from each
other in a horizontal plane at a distance greater than the diameter
of the stud shoulder but less than the diameter of the securing
flange; the spring plate is secured to the securing receptacle in
facing relationship to the detents of the securing receptacle; and
the spring plate has a leaf spring biased toward the "U" shaped
slot; whereby when the connecting stud of the attachment bracket is
inserted and seated in the "U" shaped slot, the rim of the securing
flange is engaged by the detents of the securing receptacle and
releasably held in this position by the bias of the leaf spring
pressing against the top surface of the securing flange of the
connecting stud urging it into contact with the securing
receptacle.
Description
HISTORY OF THE APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon provisional patent
application serial No. 60/371,878 filed on Apr. 12, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to an assembly for carrying small
items, such as a cell telephone, on one's person. More
particularly, the invention relates to a combination of a male and
a female fixture, one of which is attached as to a person's belt
and a the other of which is attached to the small personal item or
its protective case. The novelty of the disclosed invention lies in
the fact that the fixtures can be easily engaged or disengaged from
each other without regard to their relative orientation one to the
other.
[0003] A number of carrying assemblies are disclosed in the prior
art which utilize male and female fixtures that can be releaseably
engaged with each other. One of the fixtures is attached to a
persons' belt and the other fixture is secured to a small personal
item or its carrying case. By way of example, reference is made to
U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,335 in which a male fixture in the form of a
shaped button is received in a like shaped opening in a female
fixture. The male fixture is attached to the personal item and the
female fixture is attached to a person's belt. In this assembly,
the button is inserted axially into an opening in the female
fixture much like a key is inserted into a lock. The button is then
rotated to a locked position to secure the male fixture within the
female fixture. The procedure is reversed to separate the
fixtures.
[0004] Other types of carrying assemblies utilize similar
arrangements in which the female fixture is generally "U" shaped
with the open end extending upward. This permits the male fixture
to be inserted into the opening in the female fixture. One such
arrangement of this sort is disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,589.
The design of the described apparatus requires that the male
fixture be correctly oriented with respect to the female fixture
when engaging or disengaging one from the other.
[0005] An improved design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,170
that makes it easier to engage the male fixture with the female
fixture. Here the male fixture can be inserted in the female
fixture from any position. But, to avoid accidental separation of
one from the other, the male fixture must, in order to release it,
be rotated into a predetermined position with respect to the female
fixture.
[0006] In summary, carrying assemblies in which a male fixture is
attached to a persons clothing (or a carrying case) and a female
fixture is attached to a carrying case (or a person's clothing) are
known in the prior art. The design of these assemblies generally
requires that the male and female fixtures be aligned relative to
each other to enable the fixtures to be engaged with or disengaged
from each other.
[0007] Achieving an alignment required to engage or disengage the
fixtures may prove anywhere from awkward to
formidable--particularly so considering that the carrying assembly
most commonly is located at a person' waist in a position which may
be hard to see.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an
assembly in which a personal item, or its carrying case, is held in
a fixture when the personal item is not being used.
[0009] Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly in
which a personal item, or its carrying case, can be safely and
securely held in a fixture.
[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide a carrying
assembly comprising male and female fixtures which may be engaged
or disengaged from each other with minimum inconvenience.
[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide a carrying
assembly comprising male and female fixtures which may be engaged
or disengaged from each other without aligning the fixtures in any
particular fashion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] These and other objects are achieved by inserting a male
fixture within a "U" shaped opening in a female fixture and
utilizing an axially orientated spring bias acting in concert with
detents to secure the fixtures in engagement with each other. When
desired, the fixtures are separated from each other by an upward
pull sufficient to overcome the axial spring bias and permit the
male fixture to slide over the detents. A preferred assembly of the
invention is shown in the drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded view taken along a center line C
showing the elements of the invention and their functional
relationship to each other;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an attachment bracket 2;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connecting stud 3;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a securing receptacle 4;
and
[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a spring locking plate
5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The same reference numerals are used throughout to identify
the same elements as shown on the several drawings.
[0019] FIG. 1 is an exploded view, taken along center line
illustrating the four principle elements of the invention and their
functional relationship to each other. These elements include an
attachment bracket 2 (shown in section), a connecting stud 3 (shown
in side elevation), a securing receptacle 4 (shown in section), and
spring locking plate 5 (shown in side elevation.) When assembled,
the flange 2 and the connecting stud 3 make up a male fixture
adapted to be attached on its backside to a surface of a carrying
case (not shown) for a hand held object, such as a cell telephone.
The male fixture is designed for insertion into a female fixture
which is made up of the securing receptacle 4 and the spring
locking plate 5. The back side of the female fixture is also
adapted for mounting, as on a belt or other object.
[0020] The attachment bracket 2 includes a mounting plate 21 that
can be secured to a carrying case as by staples or rivets passing
through fastener holes 22. The mounting plate 21 supports a raised
stud support 23 having a central stud receiving sleeve 25. The
sleeve 25 is here illustrated as being cylindrical, but it can be
fashioned of any convenient curvilinear or rectilinear cross
section.
[0021] The connecting stud 3 includes a securing flange 31, a stem
33 and a shoulder 35. The stem 33 is designed to be secured within
the stud receiving sleeve 25 of the mounting plate 21. The stem 33
may be secured within the sleeve 25 as by welding, providing
threads to screw the parts together or, for that matter, by
machining the attachment bracket 2 and the connecting stud 3 from a
single block of material.
[0022] The shoulder 35 of the connecting stud 3 is designed to
slide into the "U" shaped slot 47 in the securing receptacle 4. As
the diameter of the securing flange 31 is greater than the width of
the slot 47, the connecting stud 3, when inserted into the slot 47,
cannot be axially withdrawn from the securing receptacle 4.
[0023] The securing receptacle 4 has a body portion 41 from which
depends upper legs 43,43 and their flanges 44,44. Depending from
the opposite side of the body portion 41 is a lower leg 45 carrying
a flange 46. Flanges 44,44 and 46 are provided with fastener holes
48,48.
[0024] As best can be seen in FIG. 4, the central portion of the
securing receptacle 4 has a "U" shaped slot 47 the closed end of
which extends from a point somewhat above the lower leg 45 in an
upwardly and outwardly flared direction. As noted above, the
slotted opening 47 is dimensioned to receive the shoulder 35 of the
connecting stud 3. The button 31, however, is made larger than the
slotted opening 47. By these means the shoulder 35 of the
connecting stud 3 can be inserted within the slotted opening 47
from above but, once inserted, the button 31 prevents the
connecting stud 3 from being axially withdrawn from the slotted
opening 47.
[0025] Detents 49,49 are located on either side of the "U" shaped
slot 47. The detents 49,49 engage the rim (outside diameter) of the
securing flange 31 when the connecting stud 3 is seated at the
bottom of the slot 47 of the securing receptacle 4.
[0026] Spring plate 5 is simply an attachment plate 51 that has
been deformed to provide a centrally disposed leaf spring 53.
Fastening holes 57 are provided at the corners of the attachment
plate 51. When the body portion 41 of the securing receptacle 4 is
seated against the attachment plate 51, the fastener holes 45,45
and 47,47 of the securing receptacle align with the fastener holes
57,57 of the spring plate 5. As so aligned the securing plate 4 and
the spring plate 5 can be secured to each by any convenient
fastening devices such as rivets.
[0027] The spring plate 5 carries a clip or similar known fastening
device, not shown, on its back side, i.e., the side remote from the
securing receptacle 4. The purpose of the fastening device is to
make it easy to secure the spring plate 5 and the attached securing
receptacle 4 to the belt of a user, another item of clothing, such
as at the waist of a users pants, or any conveniently accessible
support, such as the dash board of a motor vehicle. In the later
instance, a Velcro.RTM. fastener mounted on the back side of the
attachment plate 51 to engage a Velcro.RTM. fastener positioned on
a dashboard of a vehicle may be conveniently used.
[0028] As mentioned above, the flange plate 2 is fixedly attached
to the article to be carried, such as a cell telephone (not shown),
by fastening devices (not shown) that can be inserted through the
fastener holes 22 that pass through the mounting plate 21. Many
other fastening devices will occur and can be used.
[0029] In use, the female fixture including the securing receptacle
4 and the spring plate 5, are secured as to the user's belt and the
male fixture including the assembled flange plate 2 and connecting
stud 3, are secured to a hand held article or a protective case for
the hand held article. (Actually, while perhaps not as convenient,
there is no reason why this arrangement can't be reversed with the
male fixture attached to a belt and the female fixture attached to
an article. This variation is meant to be included within the scope
of the invention and the claims that follow.)
[0030] When one no longer wishes to hold his hand held device, as
at the end of a telephone conversation, the shoulder 35 of the
connecting stud 3, to which the telephone is attached via the
attachment bracket 2, is inserted into the slotted opening 47 of
the body portion 41 of the securing receptacle 4 by pushing the
connecting stud 3 downward with sufficient force to deform the leaf
spring 53 and permit the button 31 of the connecting stud 3 to
slide over the detents 49 and seat flush against the securing
receptacle 4. As described above, since the diameter of the
securing flange 31 is greater than the "U" shaped slot 47, the
connecting stud 3 cannot be axially withdrawn from the female
fixture. The connecting stud 3 can be withdrawn from the "U" shaped
slot 47 of the securing receptacle 4 only by exerting an upward
force sufficient to deform the leaf spring 53 of the spring plate 5
and allow the button 31 of the connecting stud 3 to pass over the
detents 49 of the securing receptacle 4.
[0031] From the above description of the drawings, it can be
understood that the male fixture (comprising the flange plate 2 and
the connecting stud 3) can be inserted and secured within the
female fixture (comprising the securing receptacle 4 and the spring
plate 5) without regard to the orientation of the connecting stud 3
relative to the securing receptacle 4. So too, the male fixture can
be withdrawn from the female fixture, against the bias of the leaf
spring 53, by exerting an upward force sufficient to enable the
button 31 of the connecting stud 3 to pass over the detents 49 of
the securing receptacle 4, without regard to the relative positions
of the connecting stud 3 and the securing receptacle 4.
[0032] By the foregoing described means, the male fixture and the
female fixture may be engaged or disengaged from each other without
regard to their orientation one to the other. Nevertheless, the
male fixture is held securely within the female fixture by the
conjoint action of the spring bias 53 and the detents 49.
* * * * *