Carrying case for personal electronic appliance
First Claim
1. In a kit of components adapted to form a carrying case for a personal electronic appliance, the kit comprising a housing for receiving the appliance and means for suspending the housing from a user'"'"'s person, the improvement in which the suspending means comprising a pair of components adapted to be joined by hand to simultaneously form a rotary joint that constrains the components to rotate relative to one another and a detent mechanism that resists such rotation when the components are in predetermined relative angular orientations thereby allowing the orientation of the housing to be adjusted relative to the user'"'"'s person, in which:
- a first of the components comprises an axis, a generally planar face oriented perpendicular to the axis, and a recess formed in the generally planar face and centered about the axis;
a second of the components comprises a generally planar face and a projection oriented perpendicular to the generally planar face of the second component and dimensioned to be received in the recess of the first component;
the recess and the projection are shaped to interlock along the axis so as to resist relative axial separation but allow relative rotation about the axis thereby forming the rotary joint;
one of the first and second components comprises a generally planar ratchet, the ratchet comprises a multiplicity of compartments formed in the generally planar face of the one component, and the compartments are equally spaced in a generally circular arrangement spanning a predetermined angle; and
, the other of the first and second components comprises a pawl fixed to the generally planar face of the other of the components and positioned to locate in one of the compartments of the ratchet as the projection and recess interlock thereby forming the detent mechanism.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A carrying case permits a personal electronic appliance, such as an MP3 player, to be suspended from a user'"'"'s person. In a particular embodiment, the carrying case comprises a housing, preferably formed of an elastomeric material, that receives the appliance, and a mounting assembly that suspends the housing, from a user'"'"'s belt. The mounting assembly includes a pair of components joined by hand to simultaneously form a rotary joint and a detent mechanism. One component has a projection that interlocks with a recess in the other component to form the rotary joint. One component has a planar ratchet of circular configuration defined by shallow compartments formed in a planar face of the component, and the other component has a pawl that lodges in the ratchet, as the recess and projection interlock, to form the detent mechanism.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. In a kit of components adapted to form a carrying case for a personal electronic appliance, the kit comprising a housing for receiving the appliance and means for suspending the housing from a user'"'"'s person, the improvement in which the suspending means comprising a pair of components adapted to be joined by hand to simultaneously form a rotary joint that constrains the components to rotate relative to one another and a detent mechanism that resists such rotation when the components are in predetermined relative angular orientations thereby allowing the orientation of the housing to be adjusted relative to the user'"'"'s person, in which:
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a first of the components comprises an axis, a generally planar face oriented perpendicular to the axis, and a recess formed in the generally planar face and centered about the axis;
a second of the components comprises a generally planar face and a projection oriented perpendicular to the generally planar face of the second component and dimensioned to be received in the recess of the first component;
the recess and the projection are shaped to interlock along the axis so as to resist relative axial separation but allow relative rotation about the axis thereby forming the rotary joint;
one of the first and second components comprises a generally planar ratchet, the ratchet comprises a multiplicity of compartments formed in the generally planar face of the one component, and the compartments are equally spaced in a generally circular arrangement spanning a predetermined angle; and
,the other of the first and second components comprises a pawl fixed to the generally planar face of the other of the components and positioned to locate in one of the compartments of the ratchet as the projection and recess interlock thereby forming the detent mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A carrying case adapted to support a personal electronic appliance from a user'"'"'s person, the carrying case comprising:
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a housing shaped to receive the appliance, the housing comprising a forward wall that overlays a forward surface of the received appliance and a rear wall that overlays a rear surface of the received appliance; and
,means for suspending the housing from the user'"'"'s person, the suspending means comprising;
(a) a plate-like member located within the housing against the rear wall;
(b) a pair of posts attached to the plate-like member and extending rearward parallel to one another through the rear wall of the housing;
(c) a locking member comprising a pair of clearance holes, each of the clearance holes associated with and receiving a different one of the posts when the locking member is in a predetermined locking orientation, the locking member having a generally planar rearward-facing surface, a rotational axis substantially perpendicular to the rearward-facing surface, and a recess formed in the rearward-facing surface and centered about the rotational axis; and
,(d) a clip for attachment to an item of the user'"'"'s clothing, the clip integrally formed with a pair of plate-like sections substantially parallel to one another, a forward one of the plate-like sections comprising a generally planar forward-facing surface confronting the rearward-facing surface of the locking member and comprising a projection substantially perpendicular to the forward-facing surface, aligned with the rotational axis and received in the recess of the locking member, the recess and the projection comprising complementary radial profiles interlocked within the locking member to resist relative axial separation and to allow relative rotation of the locking member and the clip about the rotational axis. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification