Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02281465 1999-08-26
The present invention relates to a new carrying case or pouch for cellular
telephones,
electronic organizers, and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of portable electronic devices has burgeoned over recent years with
more and
more people owning and using cellular telephones and electronic organizers.
Cellular
telephones are typically of an elongate, generally rectangular shape, with
substantial thickness
caused by the battery pack attached thereto. A cellular telephone typically
will include a
display area, showing the telephone number being dialled and possibly other
information, a set
of pushbuttons and an antenna. The antenna usually is extendable from and
retractable into
an antenna housing at one side of the telephone body and is typically found at
the top of the
telephone body. There is usually a short, cylindrical boss at the top of the
telephone from
which the tip of the antenna projects so that it can be pulled from its
housing and extended for
use. An electronic organizer will be wider and longer than a cellular
telephone but it will
typically be much thinner. An electronic organizer will not have any
protuberances thereon
and it usually will include a cover portion that, when the organizer is
closed, will cover a set of
keys that will include a set of alphabet keys set out much like the keys of a
typewriter or a
computer keyboard.
There are many pouches or carrying cases available for electronic items such
as those
described above. Examples are found in U.S. Patents Nos. 5,850,954; 5,711,469;
Des 395,749;
Des 369,903; Des 379,262; and Des 368,800. They may be made of leather, vinyl,
soft nylon or
other suitable materials. Telephone pouches usually include a spring clip for
removably attaching
the pouch to a belt. Such an arrangement can be very irritating when the
antenna pushes
upwardly into the flesh above a belt, particularly if the telephone is being
wom while the user is
seated or is engaging in a physical activity such as jogging. Furthermore,
such pouches usually
rely on a pouch or pocket section for permanent retention of the telephone
therein, although they
may also include a flap that covers the upper portion of the telephone. If
someone wants to use
the telephone without removing it from the carrying case the case must be
removed from the
user's belt, the flap must be removed, the telephone must be held securely to
ensure that it does
not fall from the pouch portion, and the user must punch the selection buttons
through a
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CA 02281465 1999-08-26
transparent screen that is an integral part of the carrying case.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing a
carrying case
or pouch that securely holds the portable telephone or electronic organizer in
such a manner that
it will not accidentally fall from the pouch while the user is involved in
physical activity and will not
poke into the user's flesh if being worn at the user's belt, but also in such
a way that it is readily
extractable from the carrying case for use. The carrying case includes a main
pouch area that
receives the item to be carried, the pouch area conforming fairly closely to
the shape of the item
so that it does not move excessively therein. The carrying case also includes
one part of a hook
and loop fastener combination {eg. Velcro~) on the back panel thereof, facing
forwardly. The
other part of the hook and loop fastener combination is secured to the rear
face of the item to be
carried so that the two portions engage with each other when the item is
placed into the pouch
portion. When the item to be carried is a portable telephone having an antenna
boss thereon, with
a short section of antenna projecting therefrom, the back panel of the
carrying case will have a
strap extending thereacross, the strap being elastic and positioned in close
juxtaposition to the
back panel. Preferably the strap is stitched or adhered to the back panel in
the middle thereof to
form two strap sections from the single strap. The antenna boss, or the
projecting antenna, can
be captured between the strap and the back panel to further secure the
telephone within the
carrying case. For an electronic organizer, which is symmetrical in
configuration and does not
have an antenna, the strap will not be interrupted by central stitching so
that the organizer body
can be slipped under the strap for securement.
The back panel of the carrying case can be turned rearwardly, back on itself,
to form a loop
that can be used for suspending the carrying case from a belt or a purse. If
the loop-forming part
of the back panel is stitched or otherwise secured to the back of the carrying
case then a
permanent loop is formed, through which a belt can be passed. If the loop-
forming part of the
back panel is provided with one part of a hook and loop fastener combination
and the other part
of the hook and loop combination is secured to the back of the carrying case
then the loop-forming
part of the back panel can be releasably secured to the back panel to
facilitate the attachment of
the carrying case to a belt or a purse or whatever.
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The carrying case of the invention can be made from any appropriate material,
preferably
one that is soft to the touch and which will not be harmed on exposure to the
elements. Materials
such as nylon, lycra, leather or other synthetic materials are good choices as
they will wear well,
comes in a variety of colours, and it is relatively easy to stich the panel
sections together as
required and to stich components such as the hook and loop fastener parts and
the strap thereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front view of a carrying case of this invention particularly
suited for use with
a portable (cellular) telephone.
Figure 2 is a front view of the carrying case of Figure 1 with a telephone
being shown in
position therein.
Figure 3 is a front view of a carrying case of this invention particularly
suited for use with
an electronic organizer.
Figure 4 is a rear view of a carrying case of this invention showing one
attachment method
therefor.
Figure 5 is a rear view of a carrying case of this invention showing another
attachment
method therefor.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Figure 1 shows a front view of a carrying case of this invention that is
particularly suited
for a portable telephone, such as a cellular telephone (cellphone). The
carrying case 10 includes
a pouch portion 12 which includes a front panel 14, a pair of side panels 16
and a bottom panel
18. Of course the front and side panels can be continuous, formed of a single
piece of material,
rather than separate individual panels that are stitched or bonded together. A
decorative band
20 can be provided adjacent the upper edge of the front and side panels, which
and also helps
to strengthen the pouch portion at the mouth.
With reference to Figures 1 and 4 it will be seen that the carrying case also
includes a back
panel 22 which extends upwardly from the bottom panel 18 and is secured to the
side panels 16
along the edges thereof. The back panel 22 extends upwardly above the highest
expected level
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of the telephone and then is folded back on itself as seen in Figure 4 to
create a rear panel 24.
At the back of the carrying case the back panel 22 is provided with one part
26 of a hook and loop
fastener combination while the other part 28 of the hook and loop fastener
combination is secured
to the inside face of the rear panel 24. When the two parts of the hook and
loop fastener
combination are brought togther they will connect to each other so that a loop
is defined between
the back panel 22 and the rear panel 24. That loop can be engaged with a
person's belt or with
a strap on a purse, for example, whereby the carrying case can be carried by
an individual.
With reference again to Figure 1 it will be seen that one part 30 of a hook
and loop
fastener combination is attached to the inside or forward face 32 of the back
panel 22. The part
30 preferably is fully in view, although a portion thereof could extend
downwardly into the pouch
portion 12. The other part of this hook and loop fastener combination is
adhered, as by a length
of double-sided adhesive tape, to the back face of the telephone to be carried
by the carrying
case. That part of the fastener combination is positioned on the back of the
telephone at a
location such that it will interact with the part on the face 32 when the
telephone is placed in the
pouch portion 12.
The back panel 22 is also provided with a narrow strap 34, preferably made
from an elastic
material, which strap extends across the forward face 32 of the back panel in
close juxtaposition
with respect thereto. Preferably, but not essentially, the strap is secured to
the front face 32 at
the center thereof by stitching 36 to create a pair of strap sections 38, 40.
In use, referring to Figure 2, the owner of the pouch will initially attach
the piece of hook
and loop fastener combination to the rear surface of his or her telephone T
and then place the
telephone in the pouch portion 12. Because the material of the canying case is
flexible the owner
can bend or fold the back portion above the pouch portion rearwardly so that
when that portion
is brought forwardly it is possible to slip the antenna boss A, or the antenna
extending therefrom,
under the appropriate strap section 38 or 40, depending on which side of the
telephone mounts
the antenna. While this is taking place the hook and loop fastener parts,
namely the part on the
rear of the telephone and the part 30 on the face 32 are brought together and
become secured
together. It will now be seen that the telephone is securely held within the
pouch by three
separate locking mechanisms, the pouch, the hook and loop fastener
combination, and the
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engagement of the strap section with the antenna boss or antenna of the
telephone. Even if the
person wearing the carrying case of this invention is jogging or taking part
in vigorous activity the
likelihood of the telephone becoming dislodged from the carrying case is
extremely small.
In order to remove the telephone for use one need only extract the antenna
boss or
antenna from engagement with the strap section and then pull the telephone
outwardly at the area
above the mouth of the pouch portion 12 to disengage the hook and loop
fastener combination.
The telephone can then be easily removed from the pouch portion for use. Of
course, one could
disengage the entire carrying case by disengaging the hook and loop fastener
parts 26, 28
whereby the carrying case itself can be removed from the belt or purse to
which it was attached.
Figure 3 shows another embodiment of this invention, namely a carrying case 42
suitable
for use with an electronic organizer. Such a case will be dimensionally
different from the carrying
case 10 in view of the more rectangular configuration of such an electronic
device. The carrying
case 42 will include a front panel 44, side panels 46, a bottom panel 48 and a
back panel 50 as
with the telephone carrying case 10. It will also have a hook and loop
fastener part 52 on the
forward face 54 of the back panel 50 and the organizer will have a
corresponding part of the
fastener combination secured to the back face thereof. The carrying case 42
includes as well an
elastic strap 56 secured to the back panel 50 in close juxtaposition thereto.
In this instance there
is no central stitching of the strap 56 since the width of the back panel is
just slightly greater than
the width of the organizer and since the organizer does not have an antenna as
does the
telephone. In use the organizer is positioned within the carrying case 42 in
the same manner as
for the telephone and it can be readily removed from the carrying case in the
same manner.
Figure 5 shows another mechanism for attaching a carrying case of this
invention to a belt.
In this embodiment the back panel 22 or 42 is folded rearwardly on itself to
form a rear panel 58.
The end edge 60 of the rear panel 58 is stitched or otherwise adhered to the
back panel 22 or 42
to create a permanent loop 62 through which a belt can pass.
If desired the front panel of the carrying case can carry a small rectangular
(or suitably
shaped) area such as 64 for display of a logo or a trade-mark. The material of
the carrying case
can be provided in any colour and it can be decoratively embellished so that
it will appeal to a wide
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range of customers.
While the invention has been described with particular reference to
cellulartelephones and
electronic organizers it need not be restricted to use with those items. It is
likely that there are
other items, such as small digital cameras, which can be carried by
appropriately configured
canying cases which provide the same three-zone locking or securing
capabilities of the present
invention. For example, the principles of this invention could be incorporated
into a pouch or
carrying case that is built into a gentleman's or lady's suit coat or jacket,
or into the interior of a
ladies purse. It could also be attached, as by way of hook and loop type
fasteners, to the
dashboard or sun visor of an automobile.
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