Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2086350
- -~
BACKGROUND OF 1~ INVENTION:
,
This invention relates to article holders that include a container or case -
attached to a ring or a plurality of rings for retaining, in an orderly and compact
manner, a plurality of thin and generally flat articles such as keys. From here on
in this disclosure the articles are generally referred to as keys, but the holders are
not limited to the holding of keys.
~1 .; . : '
A ring holder is the most convenience, simplest and most economical device for
:......................................................................... :
c~ holding a plurality of keys. Keys can be freely moved around a ring to facilitate
their selection and to allow easy recognition of a particular key by sight or by
touch, some keys have a special head design for identification purpose. The ; -
accessibility to the key head on a ring allows a firm grip during use. These are, . ~,
some of the main features that make it the preferred choice of many users for a
key holder. However, one of the major drawback of a ring holder is its lack of
means to retain the loose end of the keys together for compactness during storage
or calliage, and to enclose their sharp edges to reduce the abrasion darnage to the
lining of purses and pockets. Moreover, from an aesthetic point of view, an
;~!
identification plate or souvenir object is usually mounted on a key ring to attract
`~ -2-
`1
~9
2086350
the buyer. This, however, unnecessarily increases the bulkiness of the set. Other
designs of key holder address the problem by employing a different concept to
mount the key such as a pivotal mounting arrangement described in US patents
i:
2,245,381 4,045,984 4,646,913 4,596,126. These designs are less versatile,
more difficult to use, especially in selecting and using a key, and expensive for
fabrication.
' A primary object of the present invention is to provide a ring type holder with
,~
means for enclosing and retaining the loose end of the keys together in an orderly
and compact manner for added convenience during storage or carriage in a pocket
"~ or a purse. This prevents sharp edges on the keys, especially along the cut profile
of a key blade, to rub or punch through pocket and purse lining in order to reduce
the wear and tear of the lining. Another primary object is to permit the selection
and isolation of a key from a key set by leaving it outside of the container while
others are enclosed within. This feature improves the usefulness of the holder
such as: isolation of the most frequently used key, pre-selection of a particular
key in a well lit area before using it out in the dark, enhancement of the aesthetic
aspect of a ring holder by hiding the unlike keys while showing others, preventing
scratching of the wall or surface adjacent to the key hole during use. Another
primary object is to provide means for decoration or identification of a key set
:i ' -3-
i,
~ .
~S
20863~0
"'
with art-works performed on the container surfaces, thus avoid adding
unnecessary bulkiness to the set. The container also provides a reference point
: ~ on the ring so that a key could be identified by it~ mounting order after . ~:
frequent use.
These and other objects will be understood more readily in the following ~ -:
`. description of the invention together with illustrations presented in the
, accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates an article holder of the present invention with the lid of .-:
~ . .. .:
the container in a closed position enclosing one key and leaving another
key outside for usage;
FIG. 2 illustrates an article holder of the present invention with the lid of
the container in a fully open position showing one key laying within the
holding compartment and another key been moved out of the container
along the ring and ready for usage;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of a design variation of
the present invention;
-4
~-
208~3so
i,: .
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line B-B of the same design ~`
~. ~
~ ~ variation illustrated in FIG. 3; ~ ~
,: !
~; , .
FIG. 5 is a front view of an article holder of the present invention where ~ ~ ~
~,
the container comprises a plurality of key holding compartments;
!.` ' ~ :
: ~"'.'.'
FIG. 6 is an elevation view of a single lid for the container illustrated in
FIG. 5.
~` SUMMARY 01~ IHE ~VENTION
.~,
Said holder, as shown in FIG. 1 and 2, comprises a container or case 11, attached
to a ring 12 of any size or shape, providing means for enclosing and kee~Y;'
keys 13 together in an orderly and compact manner for storage and carriage. The
container includes a lid 14 with operable means such as hinging about a pivot axis
15 or sliding in and out on a front face of the container. With the lid in its open
t ~
~ position, a key 16 or a plurality of keys could be removed from the container, ~
i,. ~ . ~
they are then free to be moved along or rotated around ~he ring 12 for ease of
identification, selection and use. ! ' '~
'5~
~ '
' '~
:`.' :...... ':.:'
20863S0
Alternatively one or several keys 16 could be selected and left outside of the
container, the remaining keys 13 are left inside the container with the lid closed,
.:.. . .
thus separating the selected keys from the enclosed ones on the set. ~ ~-
Said container could be made out of rigid material including plastic, metal and
wood, or flexible material including leather or other tissues that wrap around the
`' keys to hold them together. The preferred embodiment is that of a rigid
container, made out of plastic with 3 walls and an operable front lid 14. The top
. .
wall is omitted to ease the accommodation of the key heads and facilitate the
?.1 movement of keys in and out of the container along the ring. The bottom wall
!' ,, iS omitted to accommodate exceptionally long key blade, whereas, for the majority
of keys, their blades would be completely enclosed by the container walls in a
storage position. The back wall 17 and the front lid are longer than the side walls
18,19, extending to cover the key heads and hold them in a parallel relationship
~j with each others on the ring. A hole 20 is provided at the extended end near the
~''3
' top edge of the back wall to provide means for either direct mounting of the ring
on the container or indirectly attaching it to the container by other means ~;
including a metal tab, linking wire or rod. The hole may be reenforced by a
metal insert. In the case of direct mounting, the ring pass through the hole and
is generally perpendicular to the back wall, the front lid 14 could be of the same
~,
~1 .. -.
. .
20863~
>. ; ~
~ ~ .
length as the back wall 17 and has a clearance slot 21 to accommodate the ring
when the lid is in its closed position. The lid could also be made shorter than the
back wall, enough to clear the ring and still adequately trap and hold the key
heads in aparallel relationship to each other during storage. The side walls 18,19
are shorter than the back wall 17 or the lid 14, leaving spaces on both sides of the
.~
container adjacent to the mounting location of the ring. The spaces allow
accommodation of keys with unusually wide head, permit visual inspection and
recognition of key heads when they are in a storage position. For a key that has
been selected in any order other than the first one from the lid side and left
outside of the container, the spaces also allow sideways rotational movement and
-,~
; finger accessibility to the head of said key for a firm grip during use.
In its closed position, the lid 14 is held in place by snap-on clips 22 engaging with
~ profiles 23 disposed on the side wall 18 of the container, other means such as a
`~' spring loaded mechanism located on the hinge side, or friction engagement ;~
between the side wall and the lid of the container could also be used for the same
purpose. A recess 24 on the outside surface of the side wall readily identify the -
ji movable side of the lid and allow adequate fingers access to pull the lid open. -
~ , . ~
` The hinge 15 could be located on either the left or right side wall 18 or l9 ~
allowing a user dexterous preference. The hinge is disposed entirely along the ~ - ;
-7-
`' '~"; ':.
,., ~., . ~ .
.`l ''~'.'~''
r
2 0 8 6 3
1: ~
side wall to improve the aesthetic aspect of the holder. The hinge is designed in
such a way that when fully opened, the lid swings out and stops at about a 90
degrees angle relative to the container front face, in this position the lid helps
guide the keys into their places between the walls of the container for storage.,
~
Different kinds of artwork 25 including printing, painting, embossing, stamping
~; and sculpting can be performed on the surfaces of the container wall and lid to
identify, decorate, enhance the artistic or commercial value of the holder or toallow the holder to be served as mementoes at special occasions, places or events.
' ~
~ Several design variations for the invention include but not limited to the
-~ followings:
" .:
,
,
FIG. 3 and 4 illustrate a design variation where the container 26 has no lid, it ~ ~
i ., .
''',J fully encloses the keys except at the top end where it is open to allow keys
- i removal and insertion. The ring 12 holding the key set is attached to a bar 27 -~that slides in and out of the container while being guided by a slot 28 and a recess
';.`~1
c~ 29 disposed in the centre of the back wall. With the bar in its outermost position,
the key blades clear ~e shorter side walls 30, hence they could be swung ~ ~`
sideways out of the container and become free to move along the ring. In an ~;
-8-
~ 20863~o
i
innermost position, the blades of stored keys are fully enclosed by the wall of the
container. The bar is located and slid along an outside recess 29 on the back wall
31. An inside recess 32 located at the top end of the back wall, in combination
with the outside recess 29, guide the bar at this location. The bottom end of the
bar is shaped into a T-spring 33, bent inward through the slot 28 to clip on the
inside surface of the back wall 31 and hold the bar sliding along the recess 29.
At the ends of its travel the spring engages in notches or grooves 34 provided on
the inside surface of the back wall 31 to hold the key set in either the extended
or the retracted position relative to the container.
A second design variation, shown on FIG. 5 and 6, is that of a plurality of rings
35 been attached to the back wall of a container 36 along a same edge or on
opposite edges to each other. This increases the holding capacity of the container
.~ . ~
-'~; or, with a same capacity, it would decrease the overall thickness of the container
by increasing the width to accommodate a plurality of key compartments. A
~........................................................................... .
`~ single lid 37 or a plurality of lids one for each key compartment could be used to ~ ~
~ ! . .: :
enclose the keys. The lid 37 or lids have clearance slots 38 aligned with the
mounting positions of the rings 35 to accommodate them when the lids are in a
closed position. Side spaces are provided on the side walls 39,40 near the
' ¦ mounted location of each ring for the same purposes as outlined in the description ~; ;;
~`i ,~: .
~` 20863S~~ il
~:'
of the preferred embodiment. Internal walls 41 are used to divide the container
into different holding compartments.
,
~'
::
..
.~ :
.-. ....................................................................... .
~,
- .
.~
i. .~ .
'f.'l
~` ,`1
~``1
