US1498436A

US1498436A - Key case

Info

Publication number: US1498436A
Application number: US617789A
Authority: US
Inventors: Warner R Buxton
Original assignee: Buxton Inc
Current assignee: Buxton Inc
Priority date: 1923-02-08
Filing date: 1923-02-08
Publication date: 1924-06-17
Anticipated expiration: 1941-06-17

Description

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' W. R. BUXTON KEY CASE Filed Feb. 8, 1923 2 shuns-Sheet 1 %1 v ATTORNEYS W. R. BUXTON KEY CASE lune 17, 192%.,

2 Sheetfir-Shout 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1923 4 lNVf-INTQEI I ATTORNEYS Patented June 17, 19244,

WARNER It. B'UXTON, OF LONGIVIEADOW,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO'R TO BUXTON,

INCORPORATED, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 01? MASSA- CHUSETTS.

KEY

CASE.

Application filed February 8, 1823. Serial No. 617,789.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, WARNER R, BUXTON, citizen of the United States, residing at Longmeadow, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Key Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cases for keys and the like and is a development of the invention disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,443,937 granted January 30, 1923.

According to said patent, stiffening means are provided to lie between the lines of fold of the case and resist the tendency of the flaps thereof to fold along other lines which a,

are closer together than the intended lines of fold. Such stiffening means, moreover, preferably consists ofa member which is not fixedly secured to the case but is capable of moving within limits, between the back of the case and the folded flaps to adjust itself therebetween as occasion requires, the better to perform its intended function, The key case usually has a metal plate eX- tending across the back of the case near the topthereof and the stiffening means are needed primarily at the lower end of the back, but a second metal plate at the last named location is not the desired solution for the problem because it detracts from the desired flexibility of the back and makes the case nearly rigid and nonyielding when carried in the pocket. A stiffening member, such as leather or the like, permanently secured to the case at the location described permits the back to have flexibility but it does not accomplish the object, as well as it should, because it bends readily as the back is bent. The best results, according to my experience, are obtained by the use of a floating stiffening member which does not tend to follow the back or the flaps as they curve in opposite direc tions on the application of pressure to the sides of the case (defined by the lines of fold) but tends to follow the lines of fold and extend in a straight line therebetween and remain flat to effectively perform the bracing function. The present invention is concerned with a key case having a floating stiffening member.

The stiffening means, as disclosed in the above mentioned patent, extends fromcone end of the case to the other and is substantially coextensive in area and shape with'the back of the key case. While this arrangementsatisfactorily accomplishes the in tended objects, I have found that it can be improved by confining the stiffening or bracing action entirely to the top' and bottom of the case, allowing the central portion to have considerable flexibility. The thickest portion of a key case, when 'well loaded with keys, is intermediate its'upper and lower ends and a well loaded case naturally tends to bulge at this pointflbecause the largest portion of the keys,the l1eads,are located there and because these heads overlap. It is desirable to permit a reasonable amount of bulging at the location described in order to enable the case to be well loaded with keys and, in order to allow the bulging, the sides of the case should be allowed to draw together, at a location between the top and bottom of the case, closer than the normal distance defined by the lines of fold,

This invention has for its object to provide a key case having stifiening means designed to lie across the back thereof adjacent its upper and lower ends and designed to float between the back and the folded flaps of the case at the lower end thereof in orderto tend to keep the sides of the folded key case in substantially parallel relation at its upper and lower ends, the arrangement being such that intermediate such ends the sides of the case may be drawn inwardly into much closer relation.

Another object of the invention is to provide" a key case having a member hinged at one end to the back of the key case near one end thereof and carrying at its other end a part which is adapted to lie between the lines of fold of the case near the opposite end of the latter and which has a stiffening function, said member intermediate its ends being substantially devoid of the stiffening function. I v

'A further object of the invent-ion is to provide in a key case, a member hinged at one end to the back of the case near the upper edge thereof and extending substantially to the lower edge of the back, a series of key holders and a support therefor mounted near the upper edge of the back, and a part secured to thelower end of said iscsa gs gg yaz m member at a distance from said support to render said member capable of performing 'the stiffening function.

According to another feature of the invention the last named part may be so secured to said member as to form a pocket.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following description and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of an open key case embodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are side and rear eleva tional views of the case when closed and filled'with' keys, illustrating the bulging of the case and the yielding of the sides to permit the bulgin Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational view of the key case;

Fig. 5 is a conventional view of a closed key case, illustrating a condition which the invention is designed to overcome; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views, taken similarly to Fig. 1, showing detailed variations of the construction shown therein.

Referring to these drawings: the case proper consists of a strip 10 of a flexible material, such as leather or the like, and the

end portions

11 and 12 of this strip are adapted to be folded along the lines 13 and 14 over the central portion 15 and to be sccured in overlapping relation by any suitable means, such as a glove fastener, of which the male and female sections shown at 16 and 17 respectively. The

fastening devices

16 and 17 are usually located centrally between the upper and lower edges of the flaps, as shown. Extending across the cen tralportion 15, constituting the back of the key case, and disposed near its upper edge is a member 18, which is not readily flexible and is usually of thin metal, and from this member a series of key holders 19. in the shape of snap hooks, are pivotally suspended. This member supported by the back 15, in a manner which will later be described in detail, and its ends lie substantially coincident with. the lines of fold 13 and l t. The member 18 prevents bending of the back 15 near its upper edge, causes it to remain in flat form, and prevents the

flaps

11 and 12 from being bent upon lines of fold which are any nearer together than. those shown.

Ordinarily, no means is provided at the lower end of the case to prevent its sides from being forced toward one another as tl e result of pressure applied in the direction of the arrows 20 and at the general location shown in Fig. Such pressure causes the back 15 to bulge rearwardly and the lines of fold are brought considerably closer together. The flaps 11 and being fastened together centrally and in pivotal manner, an inward movement of the flaps at their lower ends causes the upper ends to move in a reverse manner and to spread apart and bulge outwardly from the back 15, leaving a relatively large opening at the top of the case through which keys and their holders 19 may escape and also releasing these keys and holders from the restraining influence normally exerted by the folded flaps.

As a means for remedying this condition, I provide a member 22, which is secured to the back 15 and has one part, at least, as 21, which is of a width substantially equal. to that of the back and which is adapted to lie between the aforesaid lines of fold near the lower portion of the case when the flaps are closed and. resistany pressure ordinarily applied on the sides of the case. This member 22 is, by preference. secured to back 15 along one edge, desirably the upper edge, as by the stitchings 23, or in any other suitable way to allow the member to move to and fro between back 15 and the

flaps

11 and 12 when in closed position. Where, as is usually the case, pocket is provided on the rear face of member 22, as herein after described. the member is hinged so that its movement is of swinging nature to allow access to the pocket when desired as well as to permit the limited to and fro movement above described.

The member 22 may be constructed of any suitable material but usually is of leather or the like and where the material is of sufficient stifiness to accomplish, by itself, the bracing action, I cut away the sides, of the 'member, intermediate its ends, as at 2 1-, to narrow it and space its edges a material distance from the lines of fold 13 and 14-. The result of this arrangement will be clearly apparent from Fig. 3, wherein the sides of the case, intermediate its ends, are allowed to draw inwardly toward one another, as shown at 24, by reason of the omission of the bracing action at this location. The provision for the drawing together of. the sides allows the flaps 12 to bulge outwardly relatively to the back, as at 25, to accommodate the bulky parts such as the overlapping heads 2. of the keys 76. as well as the broader lower portions of the hooks 19. That is, slack is pro vided so that

flaps

11 and 12 may be drawn together and fastened over a more bulky lot of keys than could be used if there were no such provision, as described.

The key holders 19 and their support 18 maybe variously constructed as desired, and the present showing. which is disclosed. in the aforesaid patent, is merely an illustrative example of one of many suitable coustructions.

'..he particular way, in which flexibility of the case, intermediate its ends, is provided for, is not particularly important. Various ways of obtaining the same result will occur to those skilled in the art and the one construction described, together with those described hereinafter, will serve as illustrative examples of a few of many ways of obtaining the desired result.

' Where the member 22 is as described in connection with Fig. 1, of stiff material, it may be weakened intermediateits ends and made flexible at this location. Various ways of making the central section of member 22 flexible will readily occur to those skilled in the art and I have shown two representative examples in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. 6, the member 22 is weakened by providing a plurality of openings 26 therein. In Fig. 7, the same result is obtained by scoring the member 22 vertically, as indicated at 27.

Any of the cases described may, and preferably do, have pockets for the reception of any suitable articles, such as license and registration papers. Such a pocket is con veniently formed by stitching a strip 29 to member 22 along three edges, as the edges 30. The provision of strip 29 aids in the stiffening function and therefore it should be located at the bottom of member 22 and should not extend upwardly far enough to prevent the desired flexibility of the case in its central portion. Desirably all of strip 29 is located below the heads of the keys as shown in Fig. 7. The material of which member 22 is made may readily be quite flexible in itself and the recessing or weakening of it may not in all cases be necessary. With a member of such material the strip 29 may be made of stiff material to give the bracing action at the lower end of the case.

The invention is also characterized in that it does not merely provide for flexibility in the central portion of the case but rather provides for controlled flexibility as distinguished from unlimited and unrestrained flexibility. The side walls of the case may be drawn inwardly to a predetermined degree and the case restrained within proper limits from undue flexibility.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in a preferred embodiment with detailed variations, for the purposes of illustration but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

Claims:

1. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip of flexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldable over the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported from said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case along the lines of fold of said flaps, means mounted on said central portion for movement to and fro between the latter and the folded flaps,

said means provided with a relatively stifl portion adapted when the flaps are closed to lie between the sides of the case near its other end only and keep the flaps properly spaced.

2. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip of flexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldable over the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported from' said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case along the lines of fold of said flaps, a member secured to said portion near said end and extending into close proximity to the other end thereof. and a reenforc ing member secured to said member near its last named end and adapt ed, when said flaps are closed to lie between the sides of the case near the other end thereof and keep them properly spaced, said last named member being so located that adjacent portions of said key holders and last named members are in spaced relation.

3. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip of flexible material con? stitute flaps at least one of which is foldable over the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported from said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case along the lines of fold of said flaps, a relatively flexible member hinged to said portion near said end and extending into close proximity to the other end thereof, a strip so secured to said member as to form therewith a pocket, and so locatedthat the edge nearest the key holders is spaced therefrom a substantial distance, said strip serving to stiffen the free end of said hinged member whereby such end is adapted to maintain the sides of the case in properly spaced relation when the flaps are closed.

4. In a case for keys and the like, where in the ends of a strip of flexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldable over the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported from said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case along the lines of fold of said flaps, a member mounted on said portion near said end for movement to and fro between said portion and the folded flaps, said member extending into close proximity to the other end of said portion and near such end having its edges disposed substantially coincident with the lines of fold of said flaps, portions of said member being cut away intermediate said ends to allow the sides of the case to be drawn together more closely near the central ortion of the case than at its ends.

5. n a case for keys and the like, where- 471. matinee.

in the endsoi a strip of flexible material eonstitute flaps at least one of Which is toldable over the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported from said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case'along the lines of told of said flaps, a member mounted on said portion near said end for movement to and fro between said portion and. the toided flaps, said member extending into close proximity to the other end of said portion and near such end having its edges disposed substantially coincident with the lines of fold ofsaid flaps, portions of said membeing rendered more flexible intermediate said ends to allow the sides of the case to be drawn together more closely near the entrai portion of the case than at its ends 6. In a case for keysand the like, \VllQIG- in the ends of a strip of flexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is toldable over the central portion thereof to at ford an enclosure, a member hinged to said portion near one end and, extending into close proximity to the other end thereof, a series of key holders mounted on said member near the first named end, and a reenforcing member so secured to the opposite 30 end of said member as to form a pocket and so located to lie in spaced relation with said hey holders.

7 In a case for keys and the. like, wherein the ends of a strip of flexible materia constitute iaps at least one of which is "fold able over the central portion thereof to at ford an enelosure. a member hinged to said portion near one end and extending into close proximity to the other end thereof, said member at the last named end havinn' a Width substantially equal to the spacing? of the lines of fold of said flaps and inter mediate its ends having; a portion of less Width,

8. In a case for keys and the like. where in the ends of a strip of flexible mater constitute flaps at least one of which is told able over the central portion thereof to at ford an enclosure, a member hinged to said portion near one end and extending into close proximity to the other end thereof said member at the last named end having a Width substantially equal to the spacing oi the lines of fold of said flaps and intermediate its ends having a portion oi. less Width and a member secured to the l: named end of said member to form a pocket.

in testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature.

WARNER R. 'BUXTOE.