US2816434A

US2816434A - One piece adjustable key holder

Info

Publication number: US2816434A
Application number: US347795A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Olson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-04-09
Filing date: 1953-04-09
Publication date: 1957-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 1974-12-17

Description

Dec. 17, 1957 J. J OLSON I 2,816,434

I ONE PIECE ADJUSTABLE KEY HOLD ER Filed April 9, 1953 JOHN-J. OLSON United rates Patent ONE PIECE ADJUSTABLE KEY HOLDER John J. Qlson, St. Paul, Minn .assignor to Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application April 9, 1953, Serial No. 347,795

Claims. (Cl. 70-457) This invention relates to an improvement in a one piece plastic adjustable key holder formed in a single integral part by making the same of flexible plastic material. The one piece unit includes the cord-like key 'holder and also the adjustable connection members are made complete in a one shot mold. A feature of my holder resides in an adjustable cord member for the keys. Thus, if a small number of keys are tobe held in the cord, the cord is shortened by adjusting it into a diflerent position, whereas, if it is desirable to hold a larger number of keys on the cord, the same can be lengthened by placing the end thereof in a different position.

It is of primary importance that the key holder be made of material which is somewhat flexible, and molded in one piece so that the cord which holds the keys is formed integrally with the body of the holder and that the end of the cord has formed thereon a locking member which cooperates with a notch or recess formed in the body of the holder so as to hold the end of the cord adjustable as to its length.

My one piece adjustable key holder is formed with a cord projecting from the body of the holder and having a locking head on the free end of the cord. The holder may be made from such plastic material as polyethylene,

Vinylite or from rubber or a similar material. On either' side of the body of the holder one or more channels or recesses are formed to provide for holding of the free end of the cord in adjusted length or short position.

Those skilled in the art will obtain a further understanding of my key holder upon examination of the detailed specification and reference to the drawings which form a part of this specification, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of my one piece adjustable key holder.

Figure 2 is a plan view of my key holder in shortened position and in extended position shown by broken lines.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 2.

The drawings illustrate my flexible key holder A which is adapted to be molded or formed out of such material as polyethylene, Vinylite or rubber to provide a flexible, yieldable nature to the body thereof and the cord 25 of the holder A.

A flexible cord member 25 is formed integrally with the body 10 of the holder A and projects therefrom. The cord member 25 may be used to hang or support the holder. The free end of the cord 25 is adapted to receive keys and support the same therefrom. The locking head of the key member 26 is adapted to engage against the shoulders 27 or 28 bounding the recesses 29 and 30 which are formed in the longitudinal side of the body 10, while the longitudinal side portion 22 is continuous.

The cord 25 is adapted to be inserted into the longitudinally extended recess 31 through the open longitudinal slot 32. The cord 25 is enlarged in diameter at 33; this increases the frictional contact between the portion 33 and the recess 31, while key member 26 fits into 2,816,434 ice Patented Dec. 17, 1957 the recess 29 with the shoulder 34 on key member 26 engaging against the shoulder 27 of the body 10. When the head of key member 26 is in the foregoing position the loop formed by the cord 25 is enlarged as illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 2.

When it is desired to shorten the loop 25 into the position illustrated in Figure 2 in full lines, the cord is slipped through the slot 32 into the recess 31 while the enlarged portion 33 is forced through the open longitudinal slot 35 to place the enlarged portion 33 within the longitudinally extending recess 36. When the cord 25 is in this position, it is shortened and key member 26 is positioned in the recess 30 with the shoulder 34 thereof engaging against the shoulder 28.

The key member 26 is flat on one side to fit in the recesses 29 and 30, and the outer surface of the keyhead is round to conform with the round surface 23 of the body 10 of the holder A. This configuration provides a smooth contour to the body 10 of the holder A in either adjustment of the key-head end.

A feature of primary importance of my holder A resides in the formation thereof in a single integral part with the cord 25 integrally formed with the body 10 as well as the locking key member 26 on the free end of the cord. A reason why this is important in the construction of my one piece adjustable key holder is because heretofore key holders have been made and it was necessary to attach these key holders to a body portion or connecting device.

The old forms of key supports and key holders were more expensive because they had to be made out of several parts. Furthermore, prior art beaded chains were not held in an adjustable position where, with the same holder, a short or long key loop is formed from the same combination of parts.

The old forms of key holders required more labor for assembly, thereby increasing the cost of the finished holder. Furthermore, in my one piece adjustable key holder, present day plastics may be utilized to mold the same economically and this provides a resilient nature to the holder. Also, the cord loop support for the keys is not limp, but is firm without being rigid.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of my one piece adjustable key holder and have illustrated one embodiment thereof in the drawings. However, I desire to have it understood that the invention is not restricted to such illustrations but should be interpreted within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a one piece flexible adjustable key holder, a substantially flat oval-shaped body member, a cord-like member formed integral with said body member and extending therefrom, said body member having spaced apart recesses formed on one edge of said body member, said recesses being spaced from the ends of said body member thereby forming shoulder portions extending from said body member, said shoulder portions having tubular cord-receiving recesses formed therethrough engageable about said cord-like member, a head member formed on the free end of said cord-like member adapted to abut one of said shoulders when said cord-like member is inserted into one of said cord receiving recesses.

2. A one piece adjustable key holder formed of resilient material, including a substantially oval-shaped body having a flat cross section, spaced apart protrusions along one edge of said body, said protrusions being formed with cylindrical recesses and outwardly disposed cooperating slots to frictionally hold a key retaining member, an elongated cylindrical key retaining member formed integral with said body and having a free end, an enlarged end portion formed on said key-retaining member, said key-retaining member having a short rein-' forced section adjacent said enlarged end portion of greater diameter than said key-retaining member but of lesser diameter than the enlarged end portion, said shout reinforced section of said key-retaining member removably engageable transversely into said cylindrical recesses of said protrusions to provide a unitary key holder having key retaining member of adjustable length.

3. In a flexible one-piece key holder, an elongated body, a cord-like support member formed integral with and of the same material as said body member and extending therefrom, and an enlarged head portion formed integral with said cord-like support member at the free end thereof, said elongated body having a plurality of slots and recesses formed in one longitudinal side thereof to receive and means to hold the free end of said cordlike support member.

4. In a one-piece synthetic plastic key holder, a body member having a first and second longitudinal edge, a flexible cord-like member formed integraily with said body member and depending from an end of the first longitudinal edge of said body member, said cord-like member having an enlarged head at the free end thereof and a shoulder adjacent the enlarged head, said body member having a slot and adjoining recess formed in the second longitudinal edge thereof to receive and means to releasably hold said cord-like member.

5. A one-piece synthetic plastic key holder according to claim 4, wherein said body member has a second recess in the second longitudinal edge thereof and a second slot extending therefrom to the first recess to receive and a second means to releasably hold said cord-like member, so that the length of said cord-like member may be adjusted relative to said body member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 873,431 Heine Dec. 10, 1907 1,159,535 Schut Nov. 9, 1915 1,282,468 Scheel Oct. 22, 1918 1,479,611 Jones Jan. 1, 1924 1,863,150 Allen June 14, 1932 1,974,499 Luce Sept. 25, 1934 2,185,359 Swanson Jan. 2, 1940 2,234,602 McIntosh Mar. 11, 1941 2,488,661 Eisenman Nov. 22, 1949 2,596,374 Crapster May 13, 1952 2,629,251 Schwalberg Feb. 24, 1953 2,631,449 Protsman Mar. 17, 1953 2,657,568 Morrell Nov. 3, 1953 2,685,193 Marymont Aug. 3, 1954