US3916659A

US3916659A - Key holder

Info

Publication number: US3916659A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norbert Leopoldi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-04-05
Filing date: 1974-04-05
Publication date: 1975-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 1992-11-04

Abstract

A key holder and utilitarian article having a key retaining loop to suspend a plurality of keys and a spring cushioned restraining device for confining one or more keys while another key on the loop may be in use.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Leopoldi [4 Nov. 4, 1975 KEY HOLDER 2,849,044 8/1958 12611161 150/40 3,003,214 10/1961 Geragmty 24/241 513 [76] lnvemor' f' 4180 Mame 3,280,967 10/1966 Bergh et a1 206/37 K Dflve, 8 1 60613 3,704,605 12/1972 Leopoldi et a1 70/450 R Filed: Apr. 5, 1974 Appl. No.2 458,179

US. Cl. 70/456 R; 150/40 Int. C11 A4413 /00; A476 29/10 Field of Search /456 R, 459; 206/37 K,

206/38 K; /40; 24/3 K, 241 SB References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1934 Slotnick 70/456 R 4/1952 Mager et a1 70/456 R Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Alex Grosz Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Mann, Brown, McWilliams & Bradway [57] ABSTRACT A key holder and utilitarian article having a key retaining loop to suspend a plurality of keys and a spring cushioned restraining device for confining one or more keys while another key on the loop may be in use.

1 Claim, 11 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,916,659

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 sheetzofz 3,916,65

KEY HOLDER This invention relates to a device for releasably mounting a plurality of keys on a retaining loop and represents an improvement in the Key Holder of my prior US. Pat. No. 3,704,605 dated Dec. 5, 1972, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore key holders or containers have suspended a number of keys from a retaining loop, or the like, and all of the keys, which are used one at a time, have been allowed to hang loose from the retaining device so that when one key is in use the remaining keys dangle from the device and under some conditions may rattle together or engage a surface where they may damage the finish. In an automotive vehicle for instance, when the ignition key is mounted on a device of this type together with other keys such as a glove compartment or rear deck lid key or a locking gas cap key and the ignition key is inserted in the ignition lock of the vehicle, the remaining keys on the device hang free and will swing to and fro and rattle as they come in contact with one another. This may comprise a distraction to the driver of the vehicle and if the ignition lock happens to be located in the dash or instrument panel, the free swinging keys suspended from the device may come into contact with the surface of the instrument panel and mar the finish because of the constant abrasion of the surface by the swinging keys while the vehicle is in operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes all of the shortcomings of these prior art key holders in that it affords a positive means of preventing the keys on such a device that are not being used from swinging free and rattling or scraping an adjacent surface. The present key holder utilizes a bail or loop for mounting a plurality of keys thereon whereby all of the keys may be used one at a time and incorporates a hinged pocket-like member for releasably restraining the free ends of keys not'in use. The pivotally mounted pocket-like restraining member is disposed oppositely of the key holder with respect to the key holding loop, i.e where the loop for the keys at the top of the key holder, the key restraining hinged pocket member is disposed adjacent to the bottom of the key holder.

The pivotally mounted pocket member is somewhat cupshaped and is open upwardly so that keys on the loop may be disposed with their free ends in the pocket. The pocket is provided with a cushioned lining resiliently to hold the keys entered therein against movement. The pocket member has its pivotal mounting at the bottom of the key holder so that it swings outwardly away from the keys to release the keys for use. The hinged pocket is mounted partially in a recess in the key holder and the body of the key holder is provided with a vertically extending recess for the full height of the body to accommodate the keys restrained by the pocket member.

The pocket member is spring loaded so that the pocket always tends to be biased toward-its closed, or key restraining, position. The spring means may comprise a torsion spring on the axle of the hinged member or a compression spring may be used with suitable fulcrumming arrangements to direct the forces as desired. The pocket member may be latched in the closed position and a release provided for the latch which may take the form of a push button, or a lever action, or a sliding type action to release the latch and enable the pocket member to be swung to its open or key releasing position.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The invention is concerned primarily with key holders for releasably retaining a plurality of keys and has for its main purpose to restrain keys not in use from undue swinging motions while another key is in use.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a loop type key holder adapted to dispose a key in a position of use while another key is releasably confined against swinging movements.

An important object of the invention is to provide a key holder having a releasable retaining loop for a plurality of keys and a releasable restraining device for keys not in use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a key holder having a cushioned spring pressed restraining device for holding keys not in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a key holder having a spring pressed key restraining device and a release for the device to free a restrained key.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a key holder having a key restraining device and a release therefor operative by a safety latch against accidental release.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a key holder having a spring loaded key restraining device and a push button release member.

Another specific object of the invention is the provision of a key holder having a spring loaded key restraining device and a lever actuated releasing device.

A still further specific object of the invention is to provide a key holder having a spring loaded key restraining device and a release device actuated by a sliding action.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other and still more specific objects of the invention are attained by the key holder construction and arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of the key holder indicating a plurality of keys thereon in broken lines with certain of the keys restrained by the device of this invention and another key released for use;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the front side of the key holder with a plurality of keys indicated in broken lines with all of the keys restrained by the device of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the rear side of the key holder;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the key holder;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through the key holder taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3 showing the hingedly mounted restraining device and a spring pressed pin biasing the restraining device toward closed position with the open position of the restraining device indicated in broken lines;

FIG. 6 is a general perspective view of a modified form of the key holder where the restraining device is biased toward open position and is released by a push button in the side of the holder;

FIG. 7 is a front elcvational view of a type of key holder like that of FIG. 6 with the restraining device in open position as biased by a torsional spring and including a pivoted lever on the side of the holder to actuate the push button for releasing the restraining device;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the key holder as shown in FIG. '7;

FIG. 9 is a detail sectional view illustrating the push button device for retracting a holding catch from the restraining device and the pivoted lever for actuating the push button;

FIG. 10 is a detail view taken from the line 10-10 in FIG. 9 showing the holding catch engaged in an opening in a side wall of the restraining device; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary detail view of a vertically sliding device on the side of a key holder to actuate the push button by a camming action exerted on a sloping face of the push button.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings 10 represents a key holder as contemplated by this invention and having a bail like loop 11 for mounting a plurality of keys 12. The bail 11 is releasable from either side thereof, as described in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,704,605, for the insertion or removal of one or more of the keys 12. The body of the key holder 10 is provided with a vertically disposed frontal recess 13 and the keys 12 are adapted to be received in'this recess when not in use. All of the keys may be disposed in the recess 13 as when the key holderis to-be'inserted in a users pocket or when the key holder is laid aside for use at a later time. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, one key at a time may be removed from the recess 13 and disposed in a free position on the bail 11 for use, as by insertion into a lock, at which time the key holder with the remaining keys 12, will be suspended from this one key in the lock and normally will be free to swing to and fro particularly if the keys are used in a vehicle such as an automobile.

Loose keys on a key holder utilized in such service normally would rattle and jingle to the point where the noise may become annoying and distracting to the operator of the vehicle but on the key holder of this invention, the keys that are not actually being used are confined and restrained against movement so that they cannot come in contact with each other or the holder and therefore are prevented from rattling. Further, such loose keys are prevented from rubbing or scraping the area around a lock where the key being used may be inserted in a lock such as may be mounted in the dashboard of an automobile or in a wall, or the surface of a door where swinging of loose keys may abrade or damage the surrounding area. This is positively prevented in the present key holder by a releasable retainer 14 hingedly mounted adjacent to the bottom of the holder on an axle 15.

The axle member 15, as best indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, extends entirely through the key holder from side to side and the retainer 14, as best indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5, opens upwardly so that the free ends of keys 12 mounted on the crossbar of the bail 11 can be inserted into the retainer. The retainer 14 is moved to an open position, such as indicated in FIG. 5, for insertion of the free ends of the keys therein, after which the retainer exerts a biasing action on the keys to restrain them and confine the keys against any free movement. This biasing action is obtained through the operation of a spring pressed pin 16 which is mounted vertically in the body of the key holder 10 and projects dowmvardly below a bottom body surface 17 to engage the retainer 14. Spring 18 is disposed in the socket 19 behind the pin 16 and exerts a resilient force downwardly on the pin. The pivotally mounted retainer 14 includes a front wall 20, side walls 21 and a bottom wall 22. The axle 15 extends through the opposite side walls 21 to mount the retainer for pivotal movement on the holder and it will be noted that the retainer 14 is mounted in the frontal recess 13 of the key holder with the respective side walls 21 disposed in opposed association with the inner sides of the recess. This mounting of the retainer provides a compact relationship of the retainer with respect to the holder and wherein the retainer projects a minimum amount beyond the face of the key holder.

As shown in FIG. 5, the spring pressed pin 16 engages the uppermost surface of the bottom wall 22 behind the axis of the retainer 14 as represented by the axle 15, so that a rotative force is applied to the retainer tending to move it about the axle 15 to closed position. This is best illustrated in FIG. 5. The inside surface of the front wall 20 is padded with a cushion 23 secured thereon, as by cementing or the like and the frontal surface of the recess 13 is provided with a similar cushion 24, also secured thereon as by cementing and disposed in opposed relationship to the cushion 23 so that the two cushions, when the retainer 14 is in closed position, will resiliently grip the ends of the keys l2 therebetween and hold the keys against any possibility of rattling since the keys will be restrained in the pocket formed by the retainer in association with the frontal surface of the recess 13 and cushioned by the

pads

23 and 24. These cushioning pads may be formed from rubber or a synthetic foam of suitable type adapted to withstand the type of service to which they will be subjected and having appropriate cushioning properties.

In the modified form of the key holder illustrated in FIG. 6, the key restraining device 25 is spring biased in the direction of its opening movement and normally is locked in its closed position. This retainer also includes front wall 26, side walls 27 and a bottom wall 28 and the inner side surface of the front wall 26 is provided with a cushioning pad 29 secured thereon, as by cementing, while the frontal surface of the recess 13 is provided with a cushioning pad 30 secured thereon also by means of a suitable cemented attachment. As in the previous arrangement, these pads are disposed in opposing relationship to grip the free ends of keys 12 therebetween when the key retainer 25 is closed, thus preventing movement or rattling of keys suspended from the bail 11 and not in use. In this form of the invention, the key retainer 25 is biased toward open position by a torsion spring 31 which is coiled about the axle 32 with one end 33 finding bearing in the recess 13 of the key holder and the opposite end 34 of the spring bearing against the inner surface of the retainer 25 whereby to rotate the retainer about the axle 32 in the opening direction. The mounting axle 32 extends through the side walls 27 of the retainer and pivotally mounts the retainer within the recess 13 in the body of the key holder.

The key retainer 25 is locked in the closed position by a latch 35 which projects through one side of the frontal recess 13 (see FIGS. 7, 9 10) and engages an opening 36 in the adjacent side wall 27 of the retainer. The latch 35 is under spring pressure andthe end face of the latch is sloped in the direction to enable the retainer side wall 27 to engage this sloping surface in the closing movement to retract the latch automatically and enable the advancing edge of the side wall to pass and then spring back into the opening 36 to lock the retainer in fully closed position. The latch 35 is actuated by a push button 37 projecting through the adjacent side wall of the key holder near the bottom of the holder and as best illustrated in FIG. 9, it will be seen that the push button and the latch 35 comprise one integral piece pivotally mounted in the body of the key holder 10 by means of a pin or axle 38 located intermediate the push button 37 and the latch so that when the push button is pressed inwardly, the one piece member pivots about the pin 38 to retract the latch 35 out of the side wall opening 36 to enable the retainer to spring open under the impetus of the torsion spring 31.

The one piece latch and push button member includes an intermediate vertical portion 39 containing the pivotal mounting 38. A horizontally disposed portion 40 is located at the top of the vertical portion and extends inwardly to terminate in the locking latch 35 projecting into the recess 13 in the path of the retainer side wall 27. At the bottom of the vertical portion 39, a horizontal portion 41 extends outwardly and projects beyond the side of the key holder to terminate in the push button 37. This push button 37 may be actuated directly as by the arrangement thereof illustrated in FIG. 6 or, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the push button 37 may be actuated by a pivoted lever member 42 mounted on the side of the key holder body. The lever 42 is pivotally mounted at 43 and includes a downwardly extending arm 44 which overlies the push button 37 so that when the upper end of the lever 42 is pivoted outwardly, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9, the bottom arm 44 presses the push button 37 inwardly against the resilience of compression spring 45 and rotates the integral member about the axle 38 to withdraw the latch 35 from the opening 36 in the side wall 27 of the retainer 25.

The spring 45 resiliently maintains the latch 35 engaged in the opening 36 of the key retainer while enabling the latch to be depressed automatically for the passage of the retainer side wall 27 in closing movements and is compressed by the action of pushing the button 37 of FIG. 6 inwardly or by pivoting the lever 42 of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 in a direction to press inwardly on the push button but the inward actuation of the push button against the resilience of the spring 45 may also be obtained by the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 11. In this modified version of the invention, the push button 37 is actuated inwardly by a camming action and for this purpose the outermost face of the push button is sloped downwardly and outwardly. A vertically sliding member 46 is provided with a camming surface 47 disposed to engage the sloping face of the push button 37 and which, when the member 46 is moved in a sliding motion downwardly, slidingly engages the sloping surface of the push button to force it inwardly against the resilience of the spring 45. The member 46 is slidingly mounted on the side of the key holder body 10 by means of a vertically elongated beaded member 48 operatively engaged in a vertically elongated slot 49 in the sliding member. The member 46 may be manipulated by a thumbpiece 50 at the top end of the member.

The pivoted lever 42 and the sliding member 46 in both of these versions for actuating the push button release will prevent accidental opening of the key retainer by avoiding the possibility of a direct inward pressure on the face of the push button. With these arrangements, it is necessary to exert a positive action on the operating

member

42 or 46, as case may be, in order to move the push button in an operating direction so that inadvertent actuation is avoided.

What is claimed is:

l. A key holder having a body portion and a bailshaped releasable loop having a cross-bar mounted on the body portion adjacent to the top side of the body portion and adapted to hold a plurality of keys on said cross-bar, an open recess vertically disposed in the front face of said body portion and extending continuously from the top side of the body portion to the bottom side thereof, a pocket member having a horizontal bottom wall and a vertical wall forming an enclosure for the free end of one or more keys extending from said cross-bar through said open recess into the pocket member, said pocket member being pivotally mounted and disposed at least partially in said open recess adjacent to said bottom side of said body portion, spring means operatively connected with said pocket member, and cushion means mounted in said pocket member adapted resiliently to engage and restrain said free end of said one or more keys, said spring means comprising a spring mounted in said body portion and having operative connections with the body portion and with the pocket member and comprising a torsion spring mounted on the pivotal axis of the pocket member to bias the pocket member about such axis, a latch member retaining said pocket member in closed position, and a push button release for the latch member comprising an integral member pivotally mounted in the body portion having spring means biasing the latch member into operative engagement with the pocket member.

Claims

1. A key holder having a body portion and a bail-shaped releasable loop having a cross-bar mounted on the body portion adjacent to the top side of the body portion and adapted to hold a plurality of keys on said cross-bar, an open recess vertically disposed in the front face of said body portion and extending continuously from the top side of the body portion to the bottom side thereof, a pocket member having a horizontal bottom wall and a vertical wall forming an enclosure for the free end of one or more keys extending from said cross-bar through said open recess into the pocket member, said pocket member being pivotally mounted and disposed at least partially in said open recess adjacent to said bottom side of said body portion, spring means operatively connected with said pocket member, and cushion means mounted in said pocket member adapted resiliently to engage and restrain said free end of said one or more keys, said spring means comprising a spring mounted in said body portion and having operative connections with the body portion and with the pocket member and comprising a torsion spring mounted on the pivotal axis of the pocket member to bias the pocket member about such axis, a latch member retaining said pocket member in closed position, and a push button release for the latch member comprising an integral member pivotally mounted in the body portion having spring means biasing the latch member into operative engagement with the pocket member.