37 C.F.R. Å1.71(e) AUTHORIZATION
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A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the US Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS, IF ANY
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Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
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Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX, IF ANY BACKGROUND
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1. Field
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The present invention relates to an accessory for holding goods. More specifically, the matter is particularly, though not solely, of an accessory intended to hold small tools used in building work.
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2. Background Information
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During building and renovation work, a numerous group of different types of tool are required. An electrician will need many different kinds of screwdriver, current testers, and similar, but also particularly a sheath knife. A sheath knife is also a necessary and even essential tool for professionals and amateurs in many other trades.
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The working environment is seldom such that all work required can be performed while standing. Thus, in nearly all work goods will need to be picked up from floor level, bending in one direction and another and also making other movements deviating from the standing position. This creates the danger that the tools that are hanging loops from clothing, or which, for example in the case of a sheath knife, have been placed in a sheath, will detach from their storage location and fall. This can cause even a serious danger to bystanders. For example, a sheath knife can fall and strike a bystander.
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Attempts have been made to place tools in various types of holder, some of which are intended to be kept on a desk or similar surface, but some of which are intended to be attached to, for example, a shirt pocket. Such a holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,180, which presents a case, which is placed in a shirt pocket, where it is held in place by a flexible clip. Pens and similar are held in place by a material, into which the pens are pushed.
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A device of the kind described above is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,048, in which pens are held in place with the aid of plastic tongues.
BRIEF SUMMARY
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The present invention is intended to create an accessory, by means of which the drawbacks of the prior art can be avoided and which is particularly suitable for use in work that requires a sheath knife.
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The aforementioned and other advantages and benefits of the present invention are achieved by means of an accessory, the characterizing features of which are stated in the accompanying Claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
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In the following, the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which show one practicable and well-regarded embodiment of the invention.
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FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of the accessory according to the invention;
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FIG. 2 shows the accessory according to FIG. 1 with the front cover removed;
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FIG. 3 shows, for its part, a view of the accessory according to the invention, seen from straight in front and in part transparent; and
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FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view A-A of the former view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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Thus, FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of the accessory 1 according to the invention 1. It is formed essentially of two shell parts attached to each other, a rear cover 2 and a front cover 3. These parts 2 and 3 are suitably attached to each other, for instance using screws or, for example, by gluing. As FIG. 1 clearly shows, the rear cover 2 is longer than the front cover 3, so that in use the upper part of it forms an essentially plate-like protrusion, in which suitable means can be made, for instance for attaching it to work clothes. A shown in the figure, these means are holes 4, through which the accessory 1 can be attached, for example, by screws to a plastic-backed material in the vicinity of the breast pocket of an overall.
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In the embodiment shown, the rear cover 2 is clearly longer than the front cover. The extension is marked with the reference number 2′. The extension has several purposes. One purpose is to create a suitable base as a location for instructions and diagrams. A second purpose is to protect the user, in cases in which the accessory according to the invention is placed on a piece of clothing that is close to the user=s skin. Thus, for example, putting a screwdriver or sheath knife in place will not cause the danger that the user may accidentally stab himself. A third important advantage of the said extension is that, if the accessory is placed, for example, in the vicinity of, for instance a breast pocket, the attachment point will be higher up in clothing, due to the extension, so that, when stooping, the clothing cannot stretch into the field of vision, to interfere with work. As is known, clothes nearer to the shoulders are closer to the user.
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If it is wished to place the accessory according to the invention inside the breast pocket of an overall, the fitting can be assisted with the aid of the flexible protrusions 5 protruding from the sides of the accessory 1. These protrusions, which are especially of rubber or a similar material are flexible plate-like protrusions, which, when straight or bent, fit into the inner sides of the pocket and make fitting into the pocket easy and secure.
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In use, flexible protrusions 6, which extend from both sides of the opening are set in the opening between the cover parts, and which can be pin-like, narrow plate shaped, or similar. The important fact is that the protrusions 6 are flexible. The intention is that a tool or device pushed between the protrusions 6 will remain in place in such a manner that it cannot fall out. This is achieved by the device being pressed between the flexible protrusions 6. The material of the protrusions 6 is such that their friction acting on the device will be sufficient to hold the object in place, even if the accessory 1 turns upside down.
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It can also be seen from FIG. 1 that, in the use of the accessory 1 according to the invention, particular attention has been paid to the location of one device that often causes accidents according to the prior art, i.e. the sheath knife. Thus, in the accessory according to the invention, the sheath knife has its own compartment.
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FIG. 1 uses drawing markings to illustrate the location, into which a sheath knife can be pushed in a manner that mostly prevents damage. It is described in the following.
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In FIG. 2, the front cover 3 of the accessory according to the invention has been removed, thus revealing the interior of the accessory. As can be seen, there are holes 8 near to the lower edge of the accessory, for a screw or similar attachment. Access to them is through the slightly larger holes 7 in the front cover 3. Thus, if it is wished to attach the accessory, for instance to work clothes, this can be done suitably by utilizing the holes 7 and 8.
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It was stated above that the location of the sheath knife has a special position in the accessory according to the invention. Thus, it can be clearly seen from FIG. 2, that the part of the accessory reserved for the sheath knife is separated from the rest of the compartment by a spacing piece 9. Such spacing pieces can be in both the rear cover 2 and the front cover 3, in which case they will mainly take up alternating positions in sequential order, to form a sturdy partition.
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If it is wished to increase sturdiness, the spacing pieces 9 of the rear cover can lock into recesses in the front wall and similarly the spacing pieces attached to the front cover can lock into recesses at a free distance in the rear cover. Of course, there are many other ways in which to achieve sturdiness, the simplest being to increase the thickness of the material. The essential purpose of a sturdy spacing piece is, in exceptional cases, to prevent the blade of the knife from turning to the side and causing a danger there.
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A second safety factor in the sheath-knife compartment of the accessory according to the invention is that, by ensuring at the location of the blade of the knife that the blade cannot also accidently turn, for instance through the rear cover of the accessory in a breast pocket and into the user=s chest, thus ensuring that damage is prevented or minimized. Thus, this is ensured by making a step or reinforcement 10 in the rear cover 2 at the location of the knife blade.
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The first factor relating to safety using the said step 10 is that, thanks to it, the knife blade turns to a slightly slanting attitude away from the rear cover 2, in which case its natural attitude will be such that rotation directed to the knife hilt cannot bring the point of the knife towards the chest of the person using the accessory.
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FIG. 3 shows the accessory according to the invention as >transparent=while FIG. 4, for its part, shows a cross-section A-A of FIG. 3.
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The embodiment shown by FIGS. 3 and 4 will be clear on the basis of the descriptions and marked reference numbers of FIGS. 1 and 2.
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The well-regarded embodiment of the invention described above can be varied in many ways, without nevertheless deviating from the basic idea of the invention and the scope of the protection of the accompanying Claims. It goes without saying, that the shapes of the accessory can be varied in many ways to change its appearance. The surfaces of the accessory can be used as a base for various instructions, or even advertisements. The slightly curved cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 can equally well be straight.
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The accessory according to the invention can be made using the dimension ratios shown, but a wider or a narrower shape is also possible. The vertical dimension can be selected in such a way that the tools according to the intended use are taken into account, in such a way that the average lengths of the tools will be appropriately taken into account. In addition to the variations described above, many other variations are also possible.
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The embodiments above are chosen, described and illustrated so that persons skilled in the art will be able to understand the invention and the manner and process of making and using it. The descriptions and the accompanying drawings should be interpreted in the illustrative and not the exhaustive or limited sense. The invention is not intended to be limited to the exact forms disclosed. While the application attempts to disclose all of the embodiments of the invention that are reasonably foreseeable, there may be unforeseeable insubstantial modifications that remain as equivalents. It should be understood by persons skilled in the art that there may be other embodiments than those disclosed which fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Where a claim, if any, is expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function it is intended that such claim be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof, including both structural equivalents and equivalent structures, material-based equivalents and equivalent materials, and act-based equivalents and equivalent acts.
