Carrying assembly

#The invention relates to an assembly for carrying small items, such as a cell telephone, on one's person. More particularly, the invention relates to a combination of a male and a female fixture, one of which is attached as to a person's belt and a the other of which is attached to the small personal item or its protective case. The novelty of the disclosed invention lies in the fact that the fixtures can be easily engaged or disengaged from each other without regard to their relative orientation one to the other.

#A number of carrying assemblies are disclosed in the prior art which utilize male and female fixtures that can be releaseably engaged with each other. One of the fixtures is attached to a persons' belt and the other fixture is secured to a small personal item or its carrying case. By way of example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,335 in which a male fixture in the form of a shaped button is received in a like shaped opening in a female fixture. The male fixture is attached to the personal item and the female fixture is attached to a person's belt. In this assembly, the button is inserted axially into an opening in the female fixture much like a key is inserted into a lock. The button is then rotated to a locked position to secure the male fixture within the female fixture. The procedure is reversed to separate the fixtures.

#Other types of carrying assemblies utilize similar arrangements in which the female fixture is generally “U” shaped with the open end extending upward. This permits the male fixture to be inserted into the opening in the female fixture. One such arrangement of this sort is disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,589. The design of the described apparatus requires that the male fixture be correctly oriented with respect to the female fixture when engaging or disengaging one from the other.

#These and other objects are achieved by inserting a male fixture within a “U” shaped opening in a female fixture and utilizing an axially orientated spring bias acting in concert with detents to secure the fixtures in engagement with each other. When desired, the fixtures are separated from each other by an upward pull sufficient to overcome the axial spring bias and permit the male fixture to slide over the detents. A preferred assembly of the invention is shown in the drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view taken along a center line C showing the elements of the invention and their functional relationship to each other;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an attachment bracket 2;

#The same reference numerals are used throughout to identify the same elements as shown on the several drawings.

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view, taken along center line [Centerline] illustrating the four principle elements of the invention and their functional relationship to each other. These elements include an attachment bracket 2 (shown in section), a connecting stud 3 (shown in side elevation), a securing receptacle 4 (shown in section), and spring locking plate 5 (shown in side elevation.) When assembled, the flange 2 and the connecting stud 3 make up a male fixture adapted to be attached on its backside to a surface of a carrying case (not shown) for a hand held object, such as a cell telephone. The male fixture is designed for insertion into a female fixture which is made up of the securing receptacle 4 and the spring locking plate 5. The back side of the female fixture is also adapted for mounting, as on a belt or other object.

#The attachment bracket 2 includes a mounting plate 21 that can be secured to a carrying case as by staples or rivets passing through fastener holes 22. The mounting plate 21 supports a raised stud support 23 having a central stud receiving sleeve 25. The sleeve 25 is here illustrated as being cylindrical, but it can be fashioned of any convenient curvilinear or rectilinear cross section.