Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Article held by receiver
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-07
2004-06-22
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Article held by receiver
C024S003110, C224S669000, C224S930000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06752299
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, generally, to rotational holsters for holding electronic devices and, in particular embodiments, to holsters for holding a personal electronic device such as, but not limited to, a medical infusion pump, on a user's belt, while allowing the electronic device to be rotatable relative to the belt, to position and maintain the electronic device in any one of a plurality of selectable rotational orientations.
RELATED ART
Various holster products for handheld, personal electronic devices are in popular use. For example, such holster products are commonly used with mobile phones and pagers, to clip phones or pagers to a user's belt. Typical holsters for pagers include a housing or harness which holds the pager, and a belt clip connected to the housing by a metal pin and a leaf spring, as shown in FIG.
1
.
More specifically, with reference to
FIG. 1
, a typical holster for a pager may include a housing or harness
10
having a hollow interior for receiving and holding a pager (not shown). The harness
10
includes a back wall that has one or more extensions
12
for receiving a pivot pin
14
. The holster in
FIG. 1
also includes a clip member
16
having one or more extensions, corresponding to the extensions
12
of the harness back wall
11
, for receiving the pivot pin
14
. A leaf spring
18
is interposed between the clip member
16
and the harness back wall
11
, to bias the clip member
16
into the position shown in
FIG. 1
, relative to the harness. By pressing one end
17
of the clip member
16
toward the back wall
11
of the harness, the opposite end
19
of the clip member
16
pivots away from the harness back wall
11
, to allow the holster to be slipped over a user's belt. Thereafter, the user may release the end
17
of the clip member, to allow the clip member
16
to snap back toward the harness back wall
11
under the force of the spring
18
, to secure the harness to the user's belt.
The type of harness design shown in
FIG. 1
has certain advantages in that it is simple to operate, and easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Similar harness designs are utilized in conventional mobile telephone harnesses. Once clipped to a user's belt, these types of harness designs tend to rigidly hold the pager or mobile telephone to the user's belt.
As the sizes and shapes of mobile telephones have become more varied, the rigid type of holster design, as outlined above, have become less optimum for all cases. Larger telephones can obstruct the user's motion or otherwise get in the way during common activities such as sitting down in a chair, or entering or exiting a car. To address those problems, free hanging holster designs were developed to allow the telephone to rotate freely about a rotation pin, as the wearer went about their daily activities. In such free hanging holster designs, a belt clip is rotatably attached to a harness, well above the center of gravity of the electronic device, to allow the electronic device to freely rotate with the user's movements.
Belt clips have been used to attach other types of personal electronic devices to a user's belt. For example, a mounting clip for mounting a medication infusion pump to a patient is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,317. In that patent, a clip member is configured to snap-on and snap-off the back of a pump. Because of it's rigid, non-rotating, design, a clip configuration as described in that patent may have limitations as discussed above and, may also have limitations with respect to routing of tubing between the pump and the patient.
The tubing extending between the infusion pump and the patient can require different routes, depending upon the locations of the infusion pump and the tubing connection (or insertion) to the patient's body. Routing of the tubing from the infusion pump can be uncomfortable and inconvenient for the infusion pump user for certain movements or positions, because some rigid belt clips require the tubing to extend straight upward from the belt. This orientation can be uncomfortable and inconvenient for the pump user for certain movements or positions. For example, when the user is sitting in a chair, the tubing can press against the body and generate a site of irritation. In addition, many infusion pump users try to be discrete regarding their medical condition. As a result, visible tubing extending from their belt line can be a source of emotional discomfort and embarrassment.
In addition, some infusion pumps (or other electronic devices) include displays, visual indicators or windows. In some cases, the locations of these displays, indicators or windows can be difficult for the user to see, when the infusion pump is clipped to the user's belt. For example, the Minimed 508 infusion pump includes a window on the front side of the infusion pump, with adjacent interface buttons. It can also be somewhat difficult and inconvenient to view a display screen of an infusion pump or activate buttons or other operators on the infusion pump, while the infusion pump is attached to the user's belt. Typically, to view a display screen or activate user operators on the infusion pump, the infusion pump is removed from the belt so that the screen can be viewed clearly and the buttons can be operated easily. This often requires extracting the tubing from its concealed location and then re-routing and concealing the tubing after the infusion pump is replaced on the belt.
Furthermore, some infusion pumps (or other electronic devices) include battery compartments that must be accessed to replace a battery. In some cases, the location of a battery compartment can make it difficult for a user to replace a battery, when the infusion pump is clipped to the user's belt. To replace a battery, a user may have to remove the belt clip from the infusion pump (or other electronic device), to gain access to the battery compartment.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention relate to holsters with clips for holding electronic devices, such as, but not limited to, medical infusion pumps, medical monitors, medical devices or other personal electronic devices, in a manner which address the above-mentioned problems associated with conventional belt clips and holster configurations.
In particular embodiments, a holster includes a clip for selectively attaching the personal electronic device to a user's apparel, such as a user's belt, while allowing the electronic device to be rotatable relative to the user. The holster preferably includes a rotation mechanism that allows the holster to be rotated in a manner, to position and maintain the electronic device in any one of a plurality of selectable rotational orientations. By allowing the user to select and set the holster in any one of a plurality of selectable orientations, the user may adjust the holster orientation to an orientation that best suits the user's needs. In the contexts of medical devices, such as medical infusion pumps or medical monitors, the ability of the holster to maintain a set orientation allows the user to arrange and route medical tubing, wiring or the like, in a manner that best accommodates the orientation. Additionally or alternatively, the user may select an orientation that best accomodates the user's view or access to displays, indicators, compartments, buttons or other manual operators on the medical device.
A holster according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a harness portion and a clip portion. The harness portion includes a receptacle for an electronic device or medical device, such as a medical infusion pump or medical monitor. The clip portion includes clip structure adapted to clip onto a user's apparel, such as a belt, a pocket, a trouser waistband, or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the clip structure includes a belt clip.
In particular embodiments of the present invention, the clip portion is coupled to the harness portion through a
Kimball Dave
Moberg Sheldon B.
Shetler Lance
Elkins Gary E.
Foley & Lardner
Medtronic Minimed Inc.
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