Spring system for cellular telephone holster

Details Spring system for cellular telephone holster Spring system for cellular telephone holster

2000-06-21

2002-09-03

Cronin, Stephen K. (Department: 3727)

Package and article carriers

Carried by animate bearer

Article held by receiver

C224S269000, C224S930000, C024S505000, C248S231810

Reexamination Certificate

active

06443340

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to holsters for carrying portable wireless devices. More specifically, this invention relates to a two piece spring system for a cellular telephone holster.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As cellular telephones and other portable, wireless communication devices become smaller and smaller, more and more users choose to carry the devices by fastening them to a holster that is somehow attached to the user's person. The holster has a clip that allows the holster to be attached to a persons belt.
When the holster and phone are attached to a person's belt, the position of the phone may restrict a person's movement. For example, when the person sits, the phone can undesirably protrude into the person's waist. Therefore, prior art clips of cellular telephone holsters contained a mechanism to allow the clip to rotate with respect to the holster so that a person can adjust the phone position.
FIG. 1
shows a portion of a back side of a prior art cellular telephone holster
100
. The holster
100
has a holster section
102
and a clip portion
104
. The clip portion
104
has protrusions
106
formed to accept a pin (not shown) so that a clip (not shown) can be pivotably attached to the pin. A force applied to the clip causes the clip to open so that the holster
100
can be attached, for example, to the user's belt. A spring (not shown) forces the clip to rest in the closed position when no force is applied to the clip.
The clip portion
104
is formed to have a circular opening
108
with a plurality of detents
114
. The holster section
102
is formed to have protrusions
110
, an a single, stainless steel leaf spring
112
is insertable between the protrusions
110
. In normal assembly, a cap (not shown) is ultrasonic welded to the protrusions
110
to cover the leaf spring
112
assembly, and a clip (not shown) is attached to the clip portion
104
. The cap and clip are not shown so as to reveal the leaf spring
112
.
When a user applies a sufficient rotating force upon the holster section
100
, that causes the holster section
100
to rotate with respect to the clip portion
104
. A top portion
116
is forced downward against a bottom portion
118
of the leaf spring as the tip of the top portion
116
contacts one of the protrusions
120
formed by the plurality of detents
114
, thereby forcing the bottom portion
118
to compress. When the tip of the top portion
116
comes into contact with another detent of the plurality of detents
114
, the bottom portion
118
of the leaf spring
112
expands, and the pressure applied to the top portion
116
against the detent is causes the holster section
102
to remain in the new, rotated position relative to the clip portion
104
.
The prior art leaf spring
112
is composed of a metal material such as stainless steel. Moreover, the leaf spring
112
is a single piece of metal material. Accelerated life testing of the leaf spring
112
produces tiny fractures in the metal material which indicates that after a user rotates the prior art holster
100
many times, the spring system may stop working and not hold the holster section
102
in a rotated position. Specifically, the prior art leaf spring
112
receives high stresses in its two corners (area with smallest radii); these stresses exceed the yield strength of the material (stainless steel
410
).
In addition, the prior art leaf spring
112
does not provide enough spring force (which equates to turning resistance or torque); it provides only 0.58-1.0 in-lbs of torque. Therefore, what is needed is a reliable, cost effective spring system that allows reliable rotation of cellular telephone coupled to a holster.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5988577 (1999-11-01), Phillips et al.
patent: 6161741 (2000-12-01), French

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