Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Article held by receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-23
2001-11-27
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Article held by receiver
C206S811000, C220S004210, C220S023860, C224S191000, C224S222000, C224S934000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321957
ABSTRACT:
The present invention concerns an article comprised of a watertight container to be fastened by means of a strap to limbs or other members or, like a collar, to the neck of domestic animals. The container is provided with a watertight closure and allows to give the article a shape of particularly flattened ellipsoidal cross-section, or the like, in order to result of little encumbrance in the use. The container is normally inserted in a suitable case or holder of the either belt or wrist strap enclosing it, allowing the carriage thereof, as it is strongly fastened to one of the members or to the neck of animals.
Such an invention is suited to solve carriage problems in outstandingly wet environments, such as swimming pools, sea and lake areas, or the like, of a plurality of small articles, and particularly money, which can need also in case of water immersion or bathing. Of course, such an article can be used also for carrying valuables or precious small size articles also in dry condition because the strong fastening and the location to be chosen on the body assure against bag-snatchings, pocket-pickings and robberies. It is suited also for the carriage of small precious articles, such as jewels or the like, as well as of necessary articles, such as pills to be swallowed at preset times independentely from the environment or location.
It is well known that for carrying banknotes or small articles in wet environments there are in trade some containers comprised of small tubes closed by a screw cap, abutting against a rubber O-ring gasket, and provided with a cord or string to be carried by the neck. Said containers have a decidedly modest safety and comfort rate because, being the tube cap screwed, it allows a nor perfectely even pressure against the O-ring gasket, as, owing to the angle of the screw thread, the cap does not evenly press the O-ring, so that the O-ring is more pressed in an area than in an opposed area and, consequentely, to have a sufficient seal on the whole gasket it is necessary to overpress an area thereof. Further, should by distraction the screw cap be not completely closed, the hermetic seal is lost, making useless the operation of the container. Moreover, a neckbearing does not prevent either pulling or slipping of the string, with consequent high danger of loss or theft, and not even allows to have the article and its contents under continuous watch. At last, the screw cap of the tubes imposes a cylindrical shape not very suitable to reduce the size with respect to the capacity of the container and does not allow any shape adjusting of the container itself.
Some documented attempts to solve, at least partially, the problems faced by the present invention are well known.
The document EP-A-0,432,635 relates to a wrist purse, which would be expected to be watertight, comprised of an oblong cup shaped container integrally molded with a wrist strap, the cup shaped container having a cover, connected as a book to the container itself and provided with a rounded protruding, edge engaged in a complementary edge of the container itself to provide an interference fitting, also trying to be watertight. The obtained results are how, are rather doubtful because, in spite to an attempt of carefully molding the cover and the container, there are some tolerances never allowing a complete seal. Further, the fact of using the same flexible material for molding the wrist strap, the container and the cover, does not make free the container and cover assembly from accidental strains, due to stresses, resulting in seal loss and poor practical utility of the article.
For example, the document CH-A-682,040 discloses an assembly of a wrist strap and a cup shaped container, provided with a sealed cover and particularly suited for housing watches, whose cover is fastened, by means of a suitable member, to a loop of the wrist strap. This approach has the main drawback due to the fact that the container provides the tasks of article both housing and hermetically sealing which, being provided by a not evenly pressed gasket, owing to a too short hinge between the cover and the container, cannot provide a perfect liquid seal. Further, as the duty to ensure the cover closure is provided by a bracket member fastened to a loop of the wrist strap, it happens that any accidental movement of the wrist strap can jeopardize the closure safety or efficiency of the bracket member itself. At last the circular cup shape of the container does not make it suitable for articles different from watches.
In addition to the above mentioned drawbacks, there is also the fact that the sealed cover is outside faced, so that the only force assuring its closure is due to the bracket member, which is poorly dependent from any engagement of the wrist strap with a limb of the user. It seems that the inventor, possibly worried to have the sealed cover of the container openable without disengaging the wrist strap from the limb of the user, avoided on purpose to inside face the cover, not realizing that such an inside facing could strongly enhance the closure and sealing of the cover itself due to abutment of the cover against the limb.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,616 discloses a container in the form of a rigid and resilient box, connectable to a housing or holder, in turn fastened to a watch wrist strap or belt. The system could operate rather well, however has two two main drawbacks. First, the rigid box, suited for containing articles, is provided with a cover of very doubtful sealing power, as for underwater uses the inventor relies chiefly on the presence of an air bubble into the box and it is possible to guess how little can help this air bubble in case of deep immersion or of upsettings due to uncontrolled movements. Second, the box is fastened to the housing just along a side through forced fitting means not able to ensure a safe fastening in case of violent moevements specially due to sport practice, so tat there is a risk of remotion of the box from the holder.
In addition to the above mentioned drawbacks, there is also the fact that the belt is intended for fastening the holder against a limb of the user but:
a) does not cooperate to fasten the rigid and more or less watertight container to the holder itself, as such a belt is just inserted in slots located near the bottom of the holder, so that the only operation permitted to the belt is to fasten the bottom of the holder against the limb of the user;
b) does not give any improvement to the closure and sealing of the container because does not cooperate in maintaining closed the poorly watertight cover which is exposed to any accidental stress tending to open it.
The above mentioned objects are met by a container according to the invention consisting of a rigid box inserted in a case or holder integral with a wrist strap, characterized in that the holder is as resilient as the wrist strap and substantially completely surrounds the box itself and is provided with an opening for the forced inlet of the box in the case or holder and the rigid box is comprised of two portions, partially each other fitted and tightly pressed by the resilient holder, surrounding the rigid box itself, provided with at least a sealing gasket interposed in the fitting area between the two portions, so that the resilience of the holder contributes in sealingly close the rigid box.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an absolutely watertight container whose seal is not affected by strains to an associated wrist strap.
Another object is to provide a container fastened by a wrist strap but removable therefrom.
Preferably, the holder integral with the wrist strap is comprised of an elastic or resilient shell which along a first side thereof appears as a thickened peripheral frame and along an opposed second side appears as a frame surrounding an opening closed by a substantially rectangular flap hinged along a side to the frame itself and countable along an opposed side to the frame by means of holes receiving corresponding pins of the frame.
Particularly, t
Mancene Gene
Merek Joseph C.
Nissen J. Harold
Siegel Lackenbach
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