Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Including or carrying a reel
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-17
2002-05-07
Vidovich, Gregory M. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Including or carrying a reel
C224S197000, C224S677000, C224S245000, C224S251000, C224S901800, CD27S144000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382481
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for retaining a variety of relatively small, personal articles. In particular, the invention relates to a retractable article holder assembly for use in conjunction with a disposable cigarette lighter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cigarette lighters are used for a variety of purposes by smokers and non-smokers alike. Disposable cigarette lighters are popular because they are inexpensive, easy to use (i.e., no refilling of fuel or flint), and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Smokers typically carry the small disposable lighters on their person. Currently, there are approximately 45.8 million smokers in the United States of America between the ages of 18 and 49 (or 52% of the population in that age range). Accordingly, a large portion the U.S. population routinely carries some type of disposable lighter on their person. In regards to the non-smoking population, many people require the use of a lighter either at home or at work. For example, waiters are oftentimes required to light candles on tables or certain food dishes that are served flambé. In addition, many workers require the use of a lighter for a variety of tasks such as welding or general construction. Typically, women carry a disposable lighter in their purses and men oftentimes carry a lighter in a trouser or shirt pocket. Unfortunately, women often have a difficult time locating a small disposable lighter when carried in a full size purse because the lighter tends to become buried among various other loose articles in the purse. In regards to men, lighters tend to fall out of trouser or shirt pockets when sitting down or bending over, respectively.
Conventional devices for securing disposable lighters include an elastic cord or non-elastic chain for securing the lighter to an article of clothing worn by an individual. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,661 to Wainscott discloses a cord attachment for locating a cigarette lighter comprising an elastic cord connected at one end to a disk secured to the bottom end of a cigarette lighter and connected at an opposite end to a clip for attachment to clothing. Nevertheless, the device described in the Wainscott patent requires a specially configured lighter as compared to an “off-the-shelf” disposable lighter. As is well known to those skilled in the art, small disposable and relatively inexpensive lighters have become readily available on the current market, and have thus become quite popular. Specifically, the device of Wainscott requires the operator to glue or otherwise secure a disk with an opening for receiving the elastic cord onto the bottom of the lighter.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,274 to Jacob describes a holding device for a lighter comprised of a reel mechanism contained within a housing wherein the housing includes a receiving well for seating a top portion of a disposable lighter. The device requires a hinged loop pivotally connected directly to the top of a lighter for attaching the lighter to a cord of the reel mechanism. The device described in the Jacob patent likewise requires a specially configured lighter wherein the lighter includes indentations for receiving the opposing open ends of the hinged loop.
These types of devices, as described above, require customized lighters including an attachment means for attaching the cord or chain to the lighter. Accordingly, the devices described above are not readily adaptable for use with conventional disposable lighters. Moreover, the prior art discloses holding devices, such as the receiving well of the Jacob patent, that require direct contact with or attachment to the disposable lighter. Stated differently, the devices disclosed in the prior art require a string, cord, or loop attached directly to the disposable lighter structure. Moreover, the cord or rigid loop of the patents described above tends to interfere with the lighting of a desired article.
Further, most elastic cords become stretched after prolonged use and dangle awkwardly from clothing. Thus, the user must stuff the excess cord into a pocket or purse, thereby presenting a sloppy appearance or adding to the bulkiness of a pocket or purse. In the case of chains, the excess portion allowing the user to draw the lighter to the item to be lit must likewise be placed in a pocket or purse when the lighter is not in use. Moreover, the excess portion of the chain or elastic cord is susceptible to becoming tangled in the person's clothing, hands, or other articles carried in the pocket or purse. To resolve the difficultly noted above, the housing of the present invention in combination with the advantageously shaped article holder allows the user to easily grasp the article holder securing the lighter, extract the article holder containing the lighter from a position adjacent the housing to a remote position proximate the cigarette or article to be lit (e.g., candle), light the desired item without interference from the holder, and then retract the lighter and the article holder to a position adjacent the housing.
In addition to cigarette lighters, a majority of the population typically carries other small items such as lipstick, writing instruments, or flashlights for use at work and around the house. These various small items likewise tend to become misplaced or lost when the items become buried in a purse or briefcase or fall out of the pocket when bending over or sitting down. Advantageously, the retractable article holder assembly of the present invention, and more particularly the article holder, can be readily adapted to secure items other than the cigarette lighters (e.g., lipstick or writing instrument) such that user may readily locate the article, extract the article holder containing the article from a position adjacent the housing to, for example, the mouth in the case of lipstick, apply the lipstick without interference from the article holder assembly, and subsequently retract the article holder to a position adjacent to the housing. Advantageously, an expended or empty article, for example, a lipstick case, can be easily removed from the holder and replaced with a new lipstick case because the lipstick or similar article—is not directly attached to the article holder assembly by the cord or chain.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an article holder configured to permit a user to light an item without interference from any part of the article holder assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an article holder assembly for increasing the efficiency of locating and manipulating personal articles of a relatively small size.
Another object of the invention is to enhance the safety of operating a disposable cigarette lighter in the work environment.
Yet another object of the invention is to enhance the safety of operating cigarette lighters in a household environment by providing an article holder assembly for storing lighters out of reach of children.
A further object of the invention is to provide an assembly structure for reducing the likelihood of misplacing a small article.
Yet a further object of the invention is the provision of an article holder that is detachable from a housing containing a retraction mechanism, thereby promoting the interchangeability of article holders of different sizes and shapes for use in connection with the article holder assembly.
The invention meets these objectives with a retractable article holder assembly having an article holder for securing a personal article, a support housing, a clip for fastening the housing to an object, and a fastener strap for releasably securing the article holder to the housing. As configured, the article holder is capable of being extracted from a position adjacent the housing to a remote position in the vicinity of an item to be lit without interference from various components of the article holder assembly and subsequently retracted back to the position adjacent the housing. The article holder is detachable from
Summa & Allan P.A.
Vidovich Gregory M.
LandOfFree
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