Magnetic fixing unit

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6564434
  • Patent Number
    6,564,434
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, August 31, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 20, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Sandy; Robert J.
    • Jackson; Andre′
    Agents
    • Patton Boggs LLP
Abstract
A magnetic fixing unit having a first and second sub-assembly with cooperative structure for increased strength of assembly and prevention of mutual shifting between the first and the second assemblies. The magnetic fixing unit further includes a guide structure on one of the first and second assemblies to effect cooperative locking engagement with an engaging member on the other of the assemblies.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a magnetic fixing unit, in particular, to a simplified magnetic fixing unit capable of automatically locking, for example, a handbag in a closed condition.




PRIOR ART




In order to keep the lid of, for example, a handbag, gag, knapsack, belt, or an attaché case, in a closed condition, various kinds of fixing units have been designed and are available. One of them is a magnetic fixing unit using magnetic force.




An example of a magnetic fixing unit, described above, is shown in official Report No. 2944564 patent applied Heiseil 194638 which was applied for by the applicant of this patent application. This magnetic fixing unit comprises a first assembly which is attached to one member of a pair of members which have to be joined together, and a second assembly which is attached to the other member of said pair of members. The pair of members can be, for example, a handbag lid and a main body of a handbag. The above first and second assemblies are capable of not merely keeping a handbag in a closed condition, but also of automatically locking the handbag in the closed condition following the magnetic closing operation of the assemblies.




More specifically, these assemblies are attracted and combined with each other at their front surface by allowing a projecting portion installed on a front surface of the first assembly to pass through a hole formed on a front surface of the second assembly by an operation of magnet, and enable to lock their combination under the condition that a projection placed on a tip of the projecting portion of the first assembly interferes with the engaging portion member attracted on a middle of the projecting portion of the second assembly when the first and the second assemblies are tried to separate by an attracting engaging portion member placed on the second assembly to the middle of the projecting portion of the first assembly with making use of the operation of a magnet.




Generally speaking, metal is considered as appropriate material for the body of the assemblies. However, since it is necessary that the bodies be formed and processed by punching, pressing, or bending an inexpensive thin metal is preferred in order to cut production costs. However, strength is a significant consideration when a thin metal is used to make the assembly body. Since, as described above, the assemblies are fixed to the lid and body of a handbag this fixing method may require a bending of the metallic parts of the assemblies by tools such as hammers. If the strength of the metallic assemblies is weak, they may be deformed or weaken by the affixing process. Accordingly, reinforcement of the assembly is strongly desirable. Moreover, material other than metal, for example, plastic and the like, can possibly be used to form the assembly.




As described previously in a closing operation, the projecting portion of the first assembly is passed through a hole of the second assembly. After the assemblies are combined, a horizontal lateral shift may occur relative to the top to bottom axis. This shift can cause a problem when an attempt is made to disengage the assemblies because the lateral shift of the projection of the first assembly within the hole of the second assembly can cause it to catch within the second assembly and as a result, a smooth engagement and disengagement may not be achieved.




The magnetic fixing unit described in applicant's patent report number 2944643, is designed to be installed on the annular projecting portion so as to prevent a mutual shifting either upon or after the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. However, the installation of the annular projecting portion has shortcomings. One such shortcoming is that the thickness of the annular projecting portion may become an obstacle when a purse is opened. Another shortcoming is that the appearance the fixing unit gives is an undesirable thick appearance. Thus the manufacturers are faced with the undesirable choice of including the annular projecting portion to order to prevent the mutual shifting but if that is done, you end up with an undesirable looking exterior.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An example embodiment of the magnetic fixing unit comprises a first and second assembly. The first assembly comprises an engaging means, the second assembly comprises a guide means. When the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, the engaging means is generally led an inside of the guide means. The engagement assemblies may be automatically locked due to a magnetism of magnet applied to an engaging member formed on the second assembly. Further, a rim-shaped guide means covers a side of an attracting surface of the other assembly formed on the side of the attracting surface of either of said assemblies. An extending guide portion is formed on the engaging means of the first assembly and the extending guide portion combined with a hole of said second assembly prevents a vertical mutual shifting of the first and second assemblies. Further, a gap member between said engaging member and magnet effects smooth movement of the engaging member.




PROBLEMS SOLVED BY THE INVENTION




The object of the present invention is to improve the operation of prior magnetic fixing units preventing a mutual shifting between its first and second assemblies, and simultaneously reinforcing the strength of the assemblies without spoiling the fixing units exterior appearance.




According to one aspect of the present invention, a magnetic fixing unit is provided with a first assembly which is attached to one member of a pair of members which are to be attached, and a second assembly is attached to the other member of said pair of members. The first and said second assemblies are attracted and combined with each other at their attaching surface by the operation of a magnet disposed on either said first or second assemblies. Moreover, the first assembly comprises an engaging means projected from its attracting surface. Which said second assembly comprises an internal guide means so as to facilitate the entry and receipt of said engaging means into said guide means when the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. In addition, said second assembly is provided with means to lock said engaging means to said second assemblies when said first and second assemblies are combined with each other. Finally, a release means to release said lock means is provided.




According to one embodiment of the present invention the first assembly is provided with a magnetic engaging means, while said second assembly is made of a magnetic mating engaging means, such that upon the combination of said first and said second assemblies, said mating engaging means of said second assembly moves by magnetic attraction toward a lock position relative to the engaging means of said first assembly.




According to another embodiment of the present invention, the opening which attracts said mating engaging mans to the engaging means of said first assembly is installed on a part of a guide means of said second assembly.




According to another embodiment of the present invention, a magnetic guide means is provided.




According to still another embodiment of the present invention, said second assembly also comprises a frame having an attracting surface, and a housing member which houses said corresponding engaging means located between one surface of said frame and an opposite surface to said surface of said frame, said guide means may be installed on said frame, one housing member, or on a combination of guide means on said frame and guide means on said housing member.




According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, said frame is forced by punching, bending, pressing or otherwise processing a thin plate.




According to another embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcing plate is installed on a surface opposite to said attracting surface of said frame, and said annular engaging means is located between said reinforcing plate and said housing member.




According to another embodiment of the present invention, a reinforcing guide means which covers said guide means is installed on said reinforcing plate.




According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic fixing unit comprising a first assembly which is attached to one member of a pair of members which are to be fastened and a second assembly which is attached to the other member of said pair of members, said magnetic fixing unit characterized in that said first and said second assemblies are magnetically attracted to each other by an operation and said first assembly comprises an engaging means projected from its attracting surface, and said second assembly comprises a guide mans extended inside of said second assembly from its attracting surface, with said engaging means being directed into said guide means when said first and second assemblies are combined with each other, said second assembly includes a mating engaging means which locks said first and said second assemblies together following combination of said first and second assemblies, and a release means to release said mating engagement means from its lock position.




According to an additional aspects of the present invention, a magnetic fixing unit comprising a first assembly which is attached to one of a pair of members which are to be combined and a second assembly which is attached to the other member., said magnetic fixing unit characterized in that said first and said second assemblies are attracted and combined with each other at their attaching surface by a magnet disposed on either said first or said second assemblies and said first assembly comprises an engaging means projected from its attracting surface toward said second assembly, the size of the outer diameter of said engaging means is substantially the same as or bigger than the outer diameter of a tip end portion of aid engaging means, said second assembly comprises a hole at an attracting surface thereof, and said engaging means of said first assembly is lead into said hole of said second assembly, said second assembly comprises a mating engaging means which locks the combination of said first and said second assemblies by moving into a lock position when first and second assemblies are combined with each other, and a release means to release said mating engaging means.




According to an embodiment of the present invention, a guide means that faces an opposite direction to a combination direction with said first assembly from an attracting surface of said second assembly and projects over inside of the second assembly until substantially the same length as that of said engaging means on said combination direction is formed on a hole of said second assembly, said guide mans is lead inside of said guide means when said first and said second assemblies are combined with each other.




According to another aspect of the present invention, a magnetic fixing unit comprising a first assembly which is attached to one member of a pair of members which are to be combined and a second assembly which is attached to the other member of said pair of members, said magnetic fixing unit characterized in that said fist assembly comprises at least a fixing plate and an engaging portion formed on said fixing plate, said second assembly comprises at least an engaging member which is made of magnetic material and may be moved to a locking position relative to said engaging portion, a release means which is applied to said engaging member to move it from said locking position to a release position, a magnet located between said fixing plate and said engaging member when said first and said second assemblies are combined with each other so as to form a magnet gap between said magnet and said engaging member disposed on either of said first and said second assemblies, and said engaging member being designed so as to be movable to the locking position on said engaging portion by operation of said magnet plate.




According to an embodiment of the present invention, said magnet gap is formed by a non-magnetic member or a plating made of a non-magnetic member.




According to an embodiment of the present invention, said magnet is disposed on said first assembly and said engaging portion is disposed on said magnet exclusively of said fixing plate.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an example of a magnetic fixing unit of the present invention with its constituent first and second sub-assemblies engaged;





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of the first and the second sub-assemblies of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view of a locking operation when the fist and the second sub-assemblies of

FIG. 1

are engaged with each other;





FIG. 4

is a cross sectional view taken along the line A—A of

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

shows an example of a practical application of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 6

shows an example embodiment of the rim-shaped guide of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 7

shows another embodiment of the rim-shaped guide for the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 8

shows a further embodiment of the rim-shaped guide of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 9

shows a still further embodiment of the rim-shaped guide of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 10

shows an example embodiment of the extending guide portion of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention;





FIG. 11

shows another example embodiment of the slider of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS






1


first assembly






2


second assembly






10


annular plate






10




a


side surface






11


attracting surface






14


retainer






22


magnet






26


cylindrical sleeve






27


extending guide portion






30


cover






31


attracting surface






30




a


side surface






33


rim-shaped guide






34


engaging pin






36


stem of engaging pin






40


housing member






48


retainer






56


slider






65


engaging portion of slider






66


annular frame






66




a


side surface






67


attracting surface






69


guide of annular frame






75


rim-shaped projected-out portion






80


reinforcing plate




EMBODIMENT




There will now be described several preferred embodiments of the present invention.





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an assembled magnetic fixing unit according to the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention comprises a first assembly


1


and a second assembly


2


. Each of these pairs of assemblies is, as described later, fixed respectively to one of a pair of mating members (for example, a main body and a lid of a handbag) of an object to be equipped with said magnetic fixing unit. These assemblies are movable in the combination direction of the first and the second assemblies, as shown in

FIG. 1

, by the arrows A & B, such that the assemblies will be attracted and combined with each other at respective attracting surfaces


31


and


67


. As a result, the mating members of a handbag, for example, will be kept in a closed condition. In the magnetic fixing unit of this invention, the first and the second assemblies will not only be combined with each other but the assemblies will be magnetically and automatically locked together. This locked condition of the unit can be easily released by the operation of the second assembly.





FIG. 2

is an exploded view in perspective of assemblies


1


and


2


. Further,

FIG. 3

shows a cross sectional view along the center line of the magnetic fixing unit according to the present invention illustrating a combined condition of the first and the second assemblies of FIG.


1


. These drawings show components of each of the assemblies in detail. The details of the component of each of the assemblies will be described mainly with reference to FIG.


2


.




The first assembly will be initially described.




As shown at the left side of

FIG. 2

, the first assembly comprises an annular plate


10


, a retainer


14


which is fixed to said annular plate


10


, a magnet


22


and a cylindrical sleeve


26


which are attracted and attached onto the annular plate


10


by a magnetic force. A cover


30


which covers said magnet


22


and the annular plate


10


is also shown to be so formed to enable an engaging pin


34


to pass through the center of first assembly


1


. As described later, this annular plate


10


, however, can, if desired, be eliminated.




The annular plate


10


maybe either of a non-magnetic material such as plastics or a magnetic material. When the annular plate


10


is made of iron, a plating is usually applied thereto for anti-corrosion purposes. A hole


12


formed at the center of the annular plate


10


enables the engaging pine


34


to be passed therethrough.




The retainer


14


is fixed onto the bottom of the annular plate


10


, by for example, spot welding, solder and wax welding and caulking are employed in order to ensure fixing the retainer


14


, to annular plate


10


. Four circles


15


, shown in broken lines in

FIG. 2

, show solution portions caused by the spot welding process. The location of these solution portions is arranged at even 90° intervals so that force can be applied to the retainer


14


uniformly. The retainer


14


and the annular plate


10


do not have to be formed as separate components, but may be formed as one body. The retainer


14


may be made from any appropriate material, however, when it is formed in one unit with the annular plate


10


, it will naturally be formed of the same as the annular plate. Further, the retainer


14


may have the same effect as that of the annular plate


10


. If magnet


22


is made of a last magnet and either the annular plate


10


or the retainer


14


or all parts


22


,


10


and


14


may be formed into one body. Various members may be fixed to other members by a screw caulking welding, or other appropriate methods. Further, a plating may be applied to said plastic magnet


22


.




The retainer


14


comprises an annular portion


16


and two fixing portions


18


which extend downward from opposite sides of said annular portion


16


. The annular portion


16


of the retainer is fixed to the annular plate


10


, while the fixing portions


18


are used to fix the first assembly to, for example, either the main body of a handbag or a handbag lid. At the center of the annular portion


16


, a hole


20


having approximately the same size as the hole


12


of the annular plate


10


is formed. Retainer


14


d and the annular plate


10


are aligned with each other so that an aligning hole for the engaging pin


34


to be passed through is formed.




The ring-shaped magnet


22


is attached onto the opposite side of the annular plate


10


from that to which the retainer


14


is attached. The outer diameter of magnet


22


is preferably smaller than the outer diameter of annular plate


10


. Magnet


22


is a permanent magnet which has a N-pole or S-pole on one side or surface thereof and the opposite polarity on the other side or surface. Therefore, the magnet


22


can be attracted and attached to annular plate


10


by its own magnet force. As a result of the magnetic attraction and attachment of magnet


22


to annular late


10


. It is magnetized and also generates a magnetic force. The magnetic force of the annular plate


10


has the important role of attracting cylindrical sleeve


26


to it. The magnet


22


may be neodymium magnet or any other type of magnet. While the thickness of magnet


22


may be from


0


.


5


mm to


10


mm, its thickness may not be limited in these ranges. Furthermore, a plating may applied to said magnet


22


.




The cylindrical sleeve


26


, as shown in

FIG. 2

will be attached to the same side of annular plate


10


as the magnet


22


. While in the present embodiment, the cylindrical sleeve


26


is shown to be located near to the center of the annular plate


10


, it need not be so located. When the cylindrical sleeve


26


is located near to the center of the annular plate


10


, it is placed directly on the annular plate


10


so that it does not obstruct or interfere with an inner edge of a center hole


24


of the magnet


22


. Also, cylindrical sleeve


26


need not necessarily be located away from the magnet


22


, but may be brought into contact with the magnet


22


. The cylindrical sleeve


26


may alternatively be fitted directly into the ring hole of magnet


22


, and if that is done, the annular plate


10


can be omitted. Also, if a plastic magnet


22


is used, the cylindrical sleeve


26


and plastic magnet may be formed into one unit. Further any combination of the annular plate


10


, retainer


14


, and cylindrical sleeve


26


may be attached together by a screw, caulking or any other appropriate methods.




The cylindrical sleeve


26


, similar to the annular plate


10


, is made of a magnetic material. Therefore, the cylindrical sleeve


26


can be attracted by and attached to the magnetized annular plate


10


. Obviously, when the cylindrical sleeve


26


is attracted and attached to the annular plate


10


by a magnetic force, the cylindrical sleeve


26


is also magnetized. As a result, the cylindrical sleeve will also generate a magnetic force. The magnetic force of the cylindrical sleeve plays an extremely important role of attracting the engaging member


64


of assembly


2


, as will be described later. The cylindrical sleeve


26


and the annular plate


10


maybe formed into one unit.




When the cylindrical sleeve


26


is magnetically attached onto the annular plate


10


, the top of the cylindrical sleeve


26


will project over magnet


22


. Further, the cylindrical sleeve projects outward from an attracting surface of the first assembly (


31


) toward the direction of the second assembly to permit a combination therewith. The cylindrical sleeve


26


also has a through hole


28


along a longitudinal direction thereof, whose size is almost the same as those of the hole


20


of the retainer


14


and the hole


12


of the annular plate


10


. When the cylindrical sleeve


26


, the annular plate


10


, and the retainer


14


are aligned, these holes form an aligning hole to be penetrated by the engaging pin


34


.




The cover


30


is attached to the magnet


22


and the annular plate


10


. As shown in

FIG. 2

, cover


30


has a ring-shaped corresponding to that of the magnet


22


. It is of a size which is suitable for covering almost all of the upper surface of the magnet


22


and annular plate


10


, except for a portion of the bottom and side surface of the annular late


10


. As described above, cover


30


does not have to be formed with rim when the outer diameter of the magnet


22


is smaller than that of the annular plate


10


. Therefore, a smooth curved surface will be formed at said rim. When cover


30


is placed over magnet


22


and the annular plate


10


, five fixing legs


32


extending downward from an outer lower periphery of cover


30


and project over the bottom surface of the annular plate


10


. When these fixing legs


32


are bent inward along the bottom surface of the annular plate


10


, the cover


30


will be fixedly attached to the magnet


22


and the annular plate


10


to form an integrated unit. Though the material of the cover


30


is not limited to a particular type, the present embodiment employs a nonmagnetic material, such as brass. Cover


30


is provided so as to protect magnet


22


and annular plate


10


and to make the connection there between stronger. However, the cover may be omitted. The outer diameter of the magnet


22


may be either smaller or larger than the diameter of annular plate


10


. When there is no cover used, magnet


22


and annular plate


10


are preferably joined together by bonding or by the use of other well known methods for making a stronger connection therebetween. When a cover


30


is used, the surface that is attracted to the attracting surface of the second assembly


67


is the font side


31


of said cover


30


. On the other hand, when there is no cove used surface


21


of magnet


22


will be attracted to second assembly


20


. Even if cover


30


is used, the annular sleeve


26


projects outward from the attracting surface


31


of cover


30


of first assembly


1


in the direction of the second assembly


2


.




The engaging pin


34


is installed by being inserted into the aligned hole formed by holes of the cylindrical sleeve


26


, the annular plate


10


, and the retainer


14


. The engaging pine


34


comprises a stem


36


and a head


38


formed on said stem


36


. Only the stem


36


of the engaging pin


34


is inserted into the aligning hole. Head


38


is not inserted into said aligning hole.




The stem


36


of the engaging pine


34


is made to have a length that is longer than the total length of the aligning hole formed by the holes of the cylindrical sleeve


26


and the like. Therefore, when the stem


36


of the engaging pine


34


is inserted into the aligning hole, the tip of the stem


36


can be projected out of the hole


20


of the retainer


14


which forms the most bottom side of the aligning hole. By caulking the projecting-out portion (not shown) of the stem


36


against the bottom of the retainer


14


or by fixing the projecting portion of the stem


36


to the retainer


14


using welding, screwing or other appropriate methods the engaging pin


34


will be fixed to the annular plate


10


and the cylindrical sleeve


26


. As an additional alternative, the end portion of the stem


36


projections below retainer


14


may be flatten to be even with the bottom surface of the retainer


14


or may be formed to be slightly projected from said bottom surface.




When the engaging pin


34


is inserted through the aligning hole, its head


38


projects above the top of the cylindrical sleeve


26


. At least a portion of the head


38


is made of a non-magnetic material, and therefore will not be affected by a magnetic force. As described hereinbelow, when the first and the second assemblies are combined together, the head


38


penetrates a central portion of the second assembly, and since, as described previously, this head


38


is not affected by the magnetic force, a combining operation of the first and the second assemblies is not achieved due to the head


38


being magnetically attracted by any part of the second assembly. The other remaining portion of the engaging pin


34


except the head


38


, that is, the stem


38


may be made of a magnetic material or of a non-magnetic material. Head


38


of the engaging pin


34


is formed to have a conical surface so that even if head


38


is brought into contact with the engaging piece


65


of slider


56


, the frictional resistance between the head


38


and the engaging piece


65


is decreased. As a result, the engaging piece


65


can be easily and smoothly moved and the head


38


can be easily inserted into the aligned holes of the second assembly.




The second assembly will now be described.




As shown in the right portion of

FIG. 2

, the second assembly comprises an annular frame


66


, a reinforcing plate


80


which is housed in the annular frame


66


, a housing member


40


which forms a housing space, and the reinforcing plate


80


, a slider


56


which is held in the housing space formed by the reinforcing plate


80


and the housing member


40


so as to be able to move freely, and a retainer


48


which is fixed in the housing space


40


.




The annular frame


66


is preferably made of a magnetic material such as iron. By being made of a magnetic body, the annular frame


66


has outstanding effects as described later. First, a magnetic force from the first assembly can be applied to the annular frame


66


when the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. Further, a stronger attracting force between the first and the second assemblies is generated when the magnetic force of the first assembly is applied to not merely a slider


56


but also the annular frame


66


. Second, when the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other, the slider


56


will operate smoothly due to the annular frame


66


functioning as a yoke. Even when said annular frame


66


is made of plastic, brass, or the other non-magnetic body, the latter effect described previously, may result. This will be described in greater detail hereinbelow.




The annular frame


66


is formed into an integrated unit by penetrating, bending, and pressing of relatively thin and flat metal plate. These methods keep production costs low. However, it is not necessary that any of the above procedures be used to form the annular frame into the integrated unit, and other production methods might be used if desired. For example, a cylindrical guide


69


and the annular frame


66


or other portion may be formed into separated pieces and the cylindrical guide


69


may be attached later. Also, instead of placing the guide


69


on the annular frame


66


, another member corresponds to the guide


69


may be formed on the housing member


40


side. Further, a pat of the guide


69


(or some other member corresponds to the guide


69


) may be placed on both the annular frame


66


and the housing member


40


. Thus, a complete guide that is formed by any of these combinations are acceptable alternatives. Also, the various alternative material and production method available and can be used.




The annular frame


66


is formed with a surrounded outside wall portion


68


, an inside wall portion, that is, the guide


69


, and a front wall portion


70


. Though it is not obvious from the drawing, the front surface (attracting surface) of the annular frame


66


is kept flat. This front surface (the opposite surface to the surface shown at

FIG. 2

of the drawing is labeled as attracting surface


67


and is attracted to the attracting surface


31


of the first assembly.




The inside wall portion, that is, the guide


69


is a notable point. Said guide


69


has a substantially cylindrical-shaped which has a specific inner diameter and is projected out from an inner hole of the second assembly in a direction opposite from the attracting surface


67


, (see FIGS.


1


and


3


). There are three reasons to install the guide


69


. First, the guide


69


prevents any mutual horizontal shifting created between the first and the second assemblies. It is not necessary to install guide


69


if there is a little or no mutual shifting during or after the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. However, in practice, relatively big mutual shifting occurs. Thus mutual shifting will prevent a proper operation of a magnetic fixing unit. Guide


69


is installed to solve this mutual shifting problem. That is, the guide


69


prevents the mutual horizontal shifting created between the first and the second assemblies when or after these assemblies are combined with each other. Reference to FIG.


3


, more specifically shows that a head


38


of the engaging pin of the first assembly is lead inside of the second assemblies along a hole


71


which is formed inside of the guide


69


, and the head


38


is prevented from shifting horizontally within the second assembly by guide


69


. As the example, when the locking function of slider


56


is released by a pressing force being applied to its guide


69


preventing a hole


71


from being off from the head


38


due to the annular frame


66


being pushed toward the horizontal direction.




The second reason why the guide


69


is installed is to reinforce the strength, in a top to bottom direction, of the annular frame


66


. As will be described, the second assembly is fixed on an object, such as a handbag, by respectively bending and driving the fixing portion


54


of the retainer


48


which is fixed on the housing member


40


. As a result a considerable force will be applied to near the retainer


48


, in other words, near center of the housing member


40


and the annular frame


66


in the top to bottom direction. Said force may be large enough to either destroy the housing member


40


and the annular frame


66


, and thus what amounts to the second assembly, or to substantially deform parts


40


and


66


. In particular, since in this present embodiment, the annular frame


66


is formed from a relatively thin plate, it is capable of being destroyed or easily deformed during its production such that slider


56


will not be able to be properly moved between locking and unlocking positions. Accordingly, this problem is solved by the installation of the guide


60


near the center of the annular frame


66


and a reinforcing guide


82


to reinforcing plate


80


to further reinforce the strength of annular frame


66


.




The third reason why the guide


69


is installed relates to the open portion


72


of guide


69


. The open portion


72


is designed to function so that the slider


56


, especially its engaging portion


65


can approach and be attracted within guide


689


, by the cylindrical sleeve


26


which is magnetized by the first assembly and following coupling of assemblies


1


and


2


is located within the guide


69


. As shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

the size of the open portions in guide


69


is made large enough to pass the engaging portion


65


of slider


56


through. The third reason why the guide


69


is installed is so that slider


56


is only affected by a magnetic force at its engaging piece


65


. Thus, the guide is open only at


72


to magnetically attract engaging piece


65


but the remaining portion of guide


69


functions as a magnetic shield for the remaining portion of the slider


56


.




In order to accomplish these three purposes completely effectively, the guide


69


is constructed to shield with an angle over 180°, and for the present embodiment, to shield around 240°. Put another way the opening


72


in guide


69


is around this angular range and is efficient enough to attract the slider


56


to the cylindrical sleeve


26


of the first assembly by a magnetic operation applied to the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


, and, at the same time to prevent shifting in the horizontal direction created between the first and the second assemblies when or after these assemblies are combined with each other. In addition, the limited angular opening


72


of guide


69


enables the remaining portion of guide


69


to reinforce and strengthen in the top to bottom direction of the annular frame


66


. When


72


is of an angular opening smaller than 180°, for example, the purpose of the guide


69


will not be served since insufficient magnetic strength will be provided. Nevertheless, under proper circumstances a designer may determine that the opening


72


may be smaller than 180°. Further the height of the guide


69


above front wall


70


is normally made to be equal to the length of cylindrical sleeve


26


and the head


38


after the combination of the first and the second assemblies. Inner diameter of the guide


69


is slightly bigger than outer diameter of the head


38


. However, the length of the guide


69


and a design of its inner diameter are determined by designer's preference.




Plate


80


also serves to reinforce the annular frame


66


. However, reinforce plate


80


can be omitted since it only serves to reinforce the annular frame


66


. The opening in reinforcing plate


80


, as shown in

FIG. 2

of the drawings, fits over guide


69


and sets upon the opened back surface


70


of the annular frame


66


.




Although reinforcing plate


80


is, similar to the annular frame


66


, formed of a single part by penetrating, punching, or bending of thin magnetic plate, it needs not to be formed in one unit and may be formed in a similar shape in one or more parts by any well known production methods. Steel metal used for the reinforcing plate


80


may be similar to that of the annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


is formed through similar production procedure to that of the annular frame


66


. In this case, production costs will be inexpensive. However, similar to the annular frame


66


. It needs not to be formed in one unit and may be formed from a non-magnetic material.




The reinforcing plate


80


is of a shape or size which enables it to provide reinforcing strength to the front wall portion


70


of the annular frame


66


and the inside wall portion, that is, the guide


69


. Reinforcing plate


80


comprises a main body portion


81


which corresponds in size and opening to the front wall portion


70


of the annular frame


66


and whose shape is similar to a doughnut shape. Also reinforcing guide portion


82


, which corresponds to the wall portion


70


of the annular frame


66


, extends from its main body portion


81


in a top and bottom direction and serves to reinforce the upper extending cylindrical body of guide


69


.




When the reinforcing plate


80


is housed inside of the annular frame


66


, the main body portion


81


of the reinforcing late


80


covers almost the entire inside of the front wall portion


70


of the annular frame


66


. Front wall portion


66


is the opposite or backside of attracting surface


70


of the annular frame


66


. A projection portion


83


installed on the outer diameter of the main body portion


81


is fitted in the open portion


73


of outer wall portion


68


of the annular frame


66


when the reinforcing plate is housed in the annular frame


66


. The reinforcing plate


80


can only be housed in the annular frame


66


in one way because of the projecting portion


83


and the opening portion


73


on reinforcing plate


80


and the open portion


73


of annular frame


66


.




Although the reinforcing guide


82


is shown to cover less than a


1800


arch, it may be made to cover the same angular arch as guide


69


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, the height of the reinforcing guide


82


is less than that of the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


. The reason for this will be described later. It is obvious from the relation between the angular range or expanse of the reinforcing guide


82


and the angle range or expanse of the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


that the reinforcing guide frame


82


thoroughly plays a role to reinforce the annular frame


66


even though the reinforcing guide frame


82


does not encircle the entire perimeter of the guide


69


. While the reinforcing guide


82


may encircle the while perimeter of the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


and have a larger angular range than that of the guide


69


, it must be kept I mind that the opening to ensure that the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


is able to float freely into and out of its locking position must be preserved. On the other hand, it is obvious from the relation between the height of the reinforcing guide


82


and of the guide


69


of said annular frame


66


that the difference in level


84


in the top to bottom direction, shown in

FIG. 3

, is formed by the guide


69


and the reinforcing guide


82


when the reinforcing plate


80


is housed in the annular frame


66


. The difference in height


84


between the guide


69


and the reinforcing guide


82


forms a mutual supplemental shape to a difference in level


47


place on the housing member


40


. As described later, when the difference in level


84


and


47


are placed correspondingly, an aligned hole which does not have an opening substantially is formed, a hole which is formed by the guide


69


is substantially extended, and the strength of said hole is enhanced.




When the reinforcing plate


80


is made a magnetic body such as iron, various effects described in relation to the annular frame


66


will result. However, if the purpose of reinforcing plate


80


is only to intensify the strength of the annular frame


66


, this objective can be attained even though the reinforcing plate


80


is made of non-magnetic body. But, if the attracting and yoke functions of the annular frame


66


are to be enhanced by the reinforcing plate


80


, the reinforcing plate should be made of a magnetic body. That is, if the reinforcing plate


80


is made of magnetic material, the magnetic force of the first assembly will be applied to both the annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


and a stronger attracting force will be produced in between the first and the second assemblies when the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. Further if in addition to the annular frame


66


, the reinforcing late


80


functions as a yoke with regard to the magnetism from the fist assembly, the slider


56


will work smoothly. Moreover, even though these effects are achieved when the reinforcing plate


80


or the annular frame


66


is made of a non-magnetic body, better effects will be brought about when the annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


are made of a magnetic material.




The slider


56


is used to lock the first and the second assemblies together automatically when these assemblies are combined with each other. Further, the second assembly is attracted to the first assembly as a result of the operation of the magnet from the cylindrical sleeve


26


located in the fist assembly. Following the combining of the fist and second assemblies the magnetic attraction of slider


56


will lock the first and second assemblies together.




In the present embodiment, though the slider


56


is formed in one unit by manufacturing operation requiring penetrating, bending, and pounding in order to cut its production costs, it needs not to be formed as a single unit and other production methods may be used. In this regard slider


56


is similar to annular frame


66


or the reinforcing plate


80


. While slider


56


is shown to have a bilateral symmetry key shape, another shape is possible. In operation, when the first and second assemblies are combined, the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly and the cylindrical sleeve


26


located on the periphery of the engaging pin


34


both pass through the hole


64


which is located t or near the center of the slider


56


.




The slider


56


offers a main body


61


and a lever


60


. The engaging portion


65


which is shown as projecting into hole


64


, is part on the main body


61


. When the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other, the engaging portion


65


is attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


which is located on the periphery of the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly and locks these assemblies automatically. The engaging portion


65


is shown to have a half moon shape, but other shapes are possible. Also while the engaging portion


65


is shown to have a conical or ramp like surface which gets thinner toward its edged, corresponding in shape the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly which is also tapered, it needs not to be formed. As shown in

FIG. 3

, if the engaging portion


65


may be brought into contact with the head


34


of the engaging portion


65


when the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other, frictional resistance between the engaging portion


65


and the head


34


will be decreased by making the shape of the engaging portion


65


correspond in shape to that of the engaging pin


34


. The magnetic attraction from the cylindrical sleeve


16


occurs at the end of the conical surface of the engaging piece


65


. On the other hand, lever


60


can be manually moved to release the engaging portion


65


which is attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


of the first assembly and release or unlock the combination of assemblies


1


and


2


.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, slider


56


is located over the reinforcing plate


80


which is housed in the annular frame


66


, and the main body portion


61


of the slider


56


is positioned below housing member


40


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, a space


49


is formed on the housing member in order to house the slider


56


and the main body portion


61


of the slider


56


. On the other hand, the lever portion


60


of the slider


56


is exposed outward through an opening portion


42


which is formed on the outer wall portion of the housing member


40


. The housing member


40


will upon assembly be housed in the annular frame


66


in a predetermined direction such that the opening portion


42


which is projected from the housing member


40


will be fitted into an opening portion


73


which is correspondently formed on the outer wall portion


68


of the annular frame


66


. When the member


40


is housed in the annular frame


66


, only the lever portion


60


of the slider


56


is projected out from the housing space which is formed by the housing member


40


and the annular frame


66


. At the same time, respective opening portions


42


of the housing member


40


, the reinforcing plate


80


, and opening portion


73


, and the main body portion


61


, enable and permit the engaging portion


65


to be floatable and housed within this housing space. It is clear from the shape of the opening portion


42


of the housing member


40


and of the slider


56


that the floatable direction of the slider


56


is in a direction in line with the opening portion


73


formed on the housing member


40


and the outside wall portion


68


of the annular frame


66


.




Following the placement of housing member


40


in annular frame


66


, six fixing pieces


74


which are projected out of the outer wall portion


68


of the annular frame


66


are respectively bent into cutout portions


41


of the housing member


40


. In this way the housing member


40


will be fixed to the annular frame


66


.




The slider


56


inside of the housing space, and in particular, its engaging portion


65


, is able to be manually moved easily by operation of its lever


60


. As a result the engaging portion


65


will be able to be easily moved out of its locking position. The movement of the lever portion


60


results in the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


passing interference free through the opening portion


72


which is formed on the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


, and away from the magnetized annular sleeve


26


of the first assembly which is located on the inner part of the guide


69


. Since the approach and attraction of the engaging piece


65


to the annular sleeve


26


occurs automatically due to magnetic operation of the cylindrical sleeve


26


, a primary objective for the lever portion


60


is to be able to manually disengage engaging portion


65


away from the engaging pin


34


and move it away from its locking position. In order to facilitate the movement and operation of the slider


56


, a tongue portion


62


is formed on the end of the lever


60


by upwardly bending the lever


60


to form the perimeter shown in FIG.


2


.




The operation of the magnet of the first assembly upon slider


56


does not depend on the material from which slider


56


is made, and thus slider


56


may be made of a magnetic body or a non-magnetic body material. If all of the components of the second assembly, the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


is the only portion which is needed to be made of a magnetic body material. When the slider


56


is formed in one unit by non-magnetic body material, the engaging portion


65


may be coated with a magnetic-plating, or may be covered by a magnetic body or it may be made to have the properties of a magnetic body by other well-known methods. When the slider


56


is made in sections, it is not necessary to make the whole body of magnetic body materials. In other words, only the engaging portion


65


which is attracted to the first assembly needs to be made of the magnetic body, and the other remaining parts of the first assembly may be made of a non-magnetic body. Further, depending upon the design, the engaging portion


65


may be moved away from the cylindrical sleeve


26


by a movement of the lever portion


60


which is installed on either of the engaging portion


65


or the main body


61


or both. The design employed is left to the designer's preference. However, additional considerations become important when the whole body of the slider


56


is made of a magnetic body, since parts of the magnetic-made slider


56


other than the engaging portion may be attracted to the engaging pin


26


of the first assembly. If parts of the slider


56


are attracted to the pin


36


, then disabling the lock resulting from the attraction of the engaging portion


65


will not function properly. Therefore, it is necessary to contrive a way to ensure that only engaging portion


65


is attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


. On the opening located in a center of the slider


56


, the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


is shown at

FIG. 2

to be projecting from the side on which the cylindrical sleeve


26


of the first assembly is placed. Also, the engaging portion


65


, in particular, the part of engaging portion


65


contacting the engaging pin


34


, is received deeper toward the farther side from the cylindrical sleeve


26


of the first assembly. That is, toward farther direction from the hole. As described previously, the slider


56


is formed with bilateral symmetry since it is capable of moving in either direction. Due to this shape, magnetic force applied to the engaging portion


65


is much larger than that which will be applied to the remaining part of the slider


56


. With the structure of the engaging portion


65


shown, attraction to the cylindrical sleeve


26


due to the operation of the magnetic shield by the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


is greatly enhanced. However, the recessing at the slider


56


shown in

FIG. 2

is not always necessary, since in most circumstances, the engaging portion


65


is ensured attracting to the cylindrical sleeve


26


by only the operation of the magnetic shield from the guide


69


. Design of an engaging portion, a lever portion, and of a slider is up to designer's preference.




The retainer


48


is fixed on the housing member


40


and its configuration is as same as that of the retainer


14


which is fixed on the annular plate


10


. That is, the retainer


48


comprises an annular portion


52


and two fixing portions


54


which extend upward from opposite sides of the annular portion


52


. The annular portion


52


to be fixed to the housing member


40


, while the fixing portions


54


are used to fix the second assembly to an object such as the main body of lid of a handbag. Further, the retainer


48


, is similar to retainer


14


which is fixed on the annular plate


10


of the first assembly. However, the size of a hole


50


of the retainer


48


which is fixed on the housing member


40


is different from that of a hole


20


of the retainer


14


. However, hole


50


of the retainer


48


is not always necessary and could be omitted. There is an advantage with providing a hole


50


in retainer


48


since it enables the first and second assemblies to be coupled more closely since the hole


50


can receive a part of engaging pin


34


, in particular, its head


38


(see FIG.


3


). As a result, the combined first and second assemblies will be able to be more tightly joined and a thinner profile of the combined assemblies will result.




The purpose f the housing member


40


has been previously described. Its material may be either a magnetic body or a non-magnet body since the operation as the housing member


40


is achieved with either material. An annular projected out portion


43


is formed on an annular hollow section


45


. The projected-out portion


43


and the hollow


45


are of a size to accommodate the hole


50


and annular portion


50


o retainer


48


. That is, it is obvious from

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 3

that when the retainer


48


is fixed on the housing member


40


, the hole


50


of the retainer


48


is fitted over the projected-out portion


43


of the housing member


40


, the annular portion


52


of the retainer


48


is received in the hollow


45


of the housing member


40


which is formed to a shape corresponding to that of annular portion


52


. Also, after the annular portion


50


is fitted around projection


43


and into annular hollow


45


, the outer perimeter of projection


43


is turned down upon the annular portion


50


and the retainer is caulked into position to prevent removal. Accordingly, the retainer


48


is fixed onto the housing member


40


at a predetermined place.




As described previously, the annular raised level


47


formed on the housing member


40


corresponds to the difference in level


84


, which is the difference between the height of the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


and the height of the inner portion


82


of the reinforcing plate


80


. These differences in level


84


and


47


have a similar supplemental shape and their strength, for the top and bottom direction, is enhanced when they are mutually engaged with each other. Further, the hole


46


of the housing member


40


and the hole


71


which is formed inside of the guide


69


of the annular frame


66


are ensured alignment by an engagement of the differences in level


84


and


47


. When the hole


46


and the hole


71


are aligned, a mutual opening is hardly ever formed. Therefore, the first assembly, in particular the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


will not be caught, and the first and second assemblies can therefore be smoothly engaged with each other.




There will now be described the locking motion which occurs when the firs and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, with reference to

FIG. 3. A

combining motion between the first and the second assemblies is accomplished by a magnetic operation between a plurality of components of the first and the second assemblies. When the first and second assemblies get close to each other and their distance of separation decreases the assemblies are clicked together by the magnetic operation between the slider


56


and the first assembly, or the magnetic operation between the slider


56


and annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


and the first assembly when the annular frame


66


and/or the reinforcing plate


80


are made of magnetic material.




When the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other, the front surface of the cover


31


, a front surface of magnet


22


if a cover


31


is not used, of the first assembly is magnetically attracted to the front surface of the annular frame


66


of the second assembly. As a result, engaging pin


34


and the cylindrical sleeve


26


which are projected out on the top portion of the first assembly, see

FIG. 1

, are inserted into the previously described aligned hole of the second assembly. The penetration of the engaging pin


34


into the hole of the second assembly, its head


38


will reach hole


46


formed by the housing member


40


. The magnetic attraction causes the assemblies to assume the structural configuration shown

FIG. 3

with at least a top end portion of the cylindrical sleeve


26


penetrating the space formed between the housing member


40


and the annular frame


66


.




In magnetic fixing unit of this invention, the first and the second assemblies are not only combined but they are automatically locked together. The automatic locking is accompanied by a cooperative magnetic operation between the magnet


22


, the cylindrical sleeve


26


, the annular frame


26


, and the engaging portion


65


of slider


56


. More specifically, as previously described, the magnetic attraction between annular sleeve


26


and the engaging portion


65


occurs as a result of the cylindrical sleeve


26


being magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the magnet


22


through the annular plate


10


. After combination of the assemblies, engaging portions


65


will be located near the cylindrical sleeve


26


, and thus attracted to the outer surface of the cylindrical sleeve


26


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, upon the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


being attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


, the aligning hole of the second assembly is made narrower or partially closed by the engaging portion


65


. In fact the restriction results in an interference between the engaging portion


65


and the engaging pin


34


, and more particularly between the engaging portion


65


and the back surface of the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


. The attraction of the engaging portion


65


to cylindrical sleeve


26


and below the head


38


lock the first and second assemblies together and prevents them from being pulled apart. That is, the first and the second assemblies are lift in the automatically locked condition. This locking operation is shown in more detail with reference to FIG.


4


.




The operation as a yoke when the annular frame


66


or the reinforcing plate


80


is made of a magnetic body will additionally be described. The combination of the assembly and the second assembly results in magnetization by magnet


22


of the annular frame


66


and/or the reinforcing plate


80


. In turn, the slider


56


will be attracted to not only the cylindrical sleeve


26


but also the annular frame


66


and/or the reinforcing plate


80


. While one might naturally conclude that the attraction of the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


to frame


66


and/or plate


80


would prevent it from being smoothly attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


. In practice the engaging portion


65


is smoothly attracted to cylindrical sleeve


26


because the annular frame


66


and/or the reinforcing late are operated as a yoke.




In order to describe this yoking principle magnet


22


is assumed to have the S-magnet pole on the surface of the annular plate


10


side thereof and the N-magnet pole at its opposite side. Magnetic lines of flux from the S-pole are gathered onto the near end portion of the cylindrical sleeve


26


resting on the annular plate


10


, which functions as a yoke. The cylindrical sleeve


26


, will generate the strongest magnetic force near this end portion. At the same time magnetic lines of flux from the N-pole to the S-pole, are gathered near the outer periphery of the annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


. Therefore, except for the outer periphery of outer frame


66


, the magnetism on the remaining part of the annular frame


66


, which includes a part located on the slider


56


, is made weaker and therefore the attracting force applied to the slider


56


is made weaker. As a result, since the magnetic force near the end portion of the cylindrical sleeve


26


where the magnetism is gathered approximately to one point is greater than that on the annular frame


66


where the magnetic force is reduced by the generation of the magnetic flow, the engaging portion


65


of slider


56


can be smoothly attracted and attached to the cylindrical sleeve


26


. The magnetic operation and yoking operation described hereinabove, does not mean that the annular frame


66


or the reinforcing plate


80


ought to be always made from a magnetic body. However, the beneficial results ending with a smooth effective attraction of the engaging portion


65


to cylindrical sleeve


26


, when these components are made of a magnetic body are clear.




The slider


56


is arranged and formed to move smoothly as it is attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


. One way to accomplish this is that a magnetic gap member (not numbered) made of a non-magnetic material is inserted in between the slider


56


(in particular, its engaging portion


65


) and the magnet


22


. For example, depending on the strength or size of the magnet, the shape or square measure of the engaging portion


65


corresponds to the cylindrical sleeve, the transfer distance, or cooperative magnetic operation with the other members. The magnetic gap member, made of a non-magnetic material and whose thickness is 0.01 mm-10 mm, is located between the engaging portion


65


a d the magnet


22


. As a result, the slider


56


will be smoothly attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


. This has been experienced by the inventor of the present invention. In addition, instead of inserting the magnetic gap member, a non-magnetic plating may be applied to the slider


56


itself, the magnet


22


itself, or any member located between the slider


56


(in particular, its engaging portion


65


) to provide the same kind of effect. The thickness of the plating can be controlled by a dipping period into the plating solution, and therefore when an appropriate thickness of plating is applied to the slider


56


, the same effect as that described above might be provided. Hitherto, a magnetic gap material made of a non-magnetic has not been known in the art. For example, as released in patent published shown 50-112170, which is owned by the present applicants, a magnetic cover made of a non-magnetic material is formed to protect a magnet, and may appear to be a magnetic gap member, since it results in being located between the magnet


22


and the slider


56


. However as in the conventional example, the magnet cover made of a non-magnetic material has not been formed to, and is not intended to enable the slider


56


to move smoothly. In the structure depicted by patent published shown 50-112170 described above it was necessary to from the magnet cover for protecting a magnet, since only a fragile magnet such as ferrite magnet was provided. Accordingly, the magnet cover of patent published shown number 50-112170 is formed for protecting magnet, and is not intended to and is not formed to enable the slider to move smoothly. Referring to the present application, the present inventor discovered that even if the magnet cover was made of a non-magnetic material, depending on its thickness, it would operate as a magnetic gap member to enable the slider


56


to move smoothly. In addition, a non-magnetized magnetic gap member may be combined with a magnetic member or a magnetic plating. Further, a coating or a plastic or other material may be considered as the other non-magnetized magnetic gap member. Still further, instead of using the magnetic gap member, an empty space may be used. This selection is by design preference.




Related to the principle described above, in this magnetic fixing unit it is necessary to move the slider


56


to a lock release position before the first and the second assemblies are combined with each other. That is, in this magnetic fixing unit, though the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


is located in the obstructing position which may cover the aligned holes of the second assembly, the slider


56


will be naturally and easily shifted from the lock positioned through an interference of, in particular, the head


38


portion of the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly with the engaging portion


65


. The shifting will be easy because according to the principle described previously, the force that the slider


56


is attracted to the annular frame


66


, the reinforcing plate


90


, and/or the magnet


22


is lessened and the friction resistance between the engaging portion


65


and the head


38


of the engaging pin is lessened. In this case, after the engaging portion


65


is shifted from said position once, it is able to be automatically attracted to the cylindrical sleeve


26


again and thereby automatically complete the lock. Therefore, in this magnetic fixing unit, it is necessary to make the location of the slider


56


move to the lock release position before the fist and the second assemblies are combined with each other.





FIGS. 4



a


and


4




b


are cross sectional views taken along the line A—A of FIG.


3


. These drawings show the relative arrangement of the slider


56


and nearby components in both a lock position and a release position. In particular,

FIG. 4



a


shows the relative arrangement of parts in the lock position and

FIG. 4



b


shows the relative arrangement of parts in the release position respectively.




As is obvious form

FIG. 4



a


, in the lock position, the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


is disposed in a position where the engaging position


65


is attracted and attached to the outer surface of the cylindrical sleeve


26


. As a result, when the engagement between the first and the second assemblies is attempted to be released (that is, when the engaging pin


34


is attempted to be moved perpendicularly upward on the drawing), the locking condition cannot be released because the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


, in particular the portion therefor shown by a broken line, interferes with the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


.




In order to release this lock condition, as shown in

FIG. 4



b


, the engaging portion


65


should be moved to at least outside of the periphery of the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


. The engaging portion


65


can be moved by moving the slider


56


along the arrow direction shown on the drawing. When the slider


56


is moved along the arrow, the engaging portion


65


is moved away from the head


38


, and thus the interference between the engaging pin


34


and the engaging portion


65


is released. The lock condition is thereby released. Both before and after the lock is released, the magnetism from the first assembly substantially acts through to the engaging portion


65


of the slider. This is, described above, due to the configuration of the slider and the function of the magnetic shield of the guide


69


frame


66


.




Next, some examples regarding practical usage of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.


5


. As previously mentioned, the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention may be applied to various objects such as handbag, bag, knapsack, belt, cigarette case, attache case, doors, and the like. We now describe the uses of the invention with the handbag as a typical example.

FIG. 5

shows the first and the second assemblies, Nos.


1


and


2


respectively, each being attached to an enlarged handbag as viewed from the outside looking in.




According to the present embodiment, the first and the second assemblies are fixed respectively to a right side of a handbag main body


4


and a reserve side of a lid


3


of a handbag. Contrarily, the first assembly may be fixed on lid


3


of the handbag and the second assembly may be fixed to the handbag main body


4


, respectively.




These assemblies are respectively fixed to predetermined places of a purse retainers


18


and


54


of the assemblies. As described above, each of these retainers respectively has two fixing portion s


18


and


4


(shown in

FIGS. 1

,


2


clearly) and a pair f holes (not shown) for inserting the respective fixing portions is formed on corresponding portions of the main body


4


and the lid


3


respectively. The first and the second assemblies can be fixed to the main body


4


and the lid


3


, respectively, by completely inserting respective fixing portions


18


and


54


into these holes and then bending them as required. As described previously, since strength, in the top to bottom direction, in said second assembly is intensified by the guide


69


of the frame


66


, said second assembly will not be destroyed, deformed or its operation otherwise impaired by attachment of the fixing units to the purse.




Generally, in order to ensure fixing, washers


6


,


5


are placed between the fixing portion


18


and the main body


4


, and between the fixing portion


54


and the lid


3


respectively. The washers


6


,


5


are formed with holes corresponding to those formed on the main body


4


and the lid


3


. When washers are used, respective fixing portions


18


and


54


of the retainers are inserted into the hole formed on the body


4


and the hole of the washer or into the hole formed on the lid


3


and the hole of the washer respectively and secured to the body and lid by bending the fixing legs or portions. Further, though the retainers


14


and


48


are used for fixing the first and the second assemblies to handbag and the like, a caulking stop, a screw stop, or other methods may be used as well.




When the first and the second assemblies which have been respectively fixed of the main body


4


and the lid


3


are combined with each other, that is, when the lid of the handbag is located, the first and the second assemblies are located between the main body


4


of the handbag and the lid


3


of the handbag and thus re not visible from outside of the purse. The fixing lock between the first and the second assemblies is released by inserting a finger into a clearance between the main body


4


and the lid


3


and pushing the tongue portion


62


of the slider


56


of the second assembly. In order to facilitate this operation, it is preferable that the tongue portion


62


of the second assembly is positioned, as shown in the

FIG. 5

drawing, near or the same location as an edge


7


of the lid


3


. Nonetheless, the tongue portion


62


may be projected outwardly of the edge


7


. Further, as with other release methods, it is possible to push the handbag portion in order to operate the lever of the second assembly. Though not shown in the drawing, the main body


4


and the lid


3


are formed by folding at least two sheets of leather or cloth. The bent legs or fixing portions


18


and


54


are then located between the respective folded sheets. Accordingly, these fixing portions are not visible from the outside of the purse. Further, the tongue


62


of the slider


56


is proximate the edge


7


of the lid


3


, so as to interfere with the sewing of the lid by a sewing machine. The second assembly which includes the lever


60


and the tongue portion


62


, can be turned to the right or left around


90


degrees when the fixing portion


54


is mounted on the predetermined position of the lid


3


. Following the sewing operation, the second assembly including the tongue portion


62


will be returned to the predetermined position as shown at FIG.


5


.




According to the fabrication method described above, since none of the parts of the assemblies are exposed or seen from the outside of the purse, various decorations (not shown) can be applied to appropriate visible outer surfaces of the purse according to the user's preference. Therefore, the magnetization of the fixing unit of this invention does not in any way affect the visible outer appearance of the purse.




While the above description of a practical example f usage of the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention has concentration on a handbag, the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention can be used not only for the handbag but also for a bag, belt, knapsack, cigarette case, attach case, knob of a door and any other objects which require to be locked. Therefore, the objects to which the magnetic fixing unit of the present invention can be attached are used are virtually unlimited.




In the embodiment described above, when the components are made of a nonmagnetic material, a non-magnetic plating may be applied to those components, to result in the same effect as if the components were made of a non-magnetic material. Therefore, in respective embodiments, the component to be made of non-magnetic material may be replaced by the magnetic components to which a non-magnetic plating is applied. Accordingly, plating can be used as an anticorrosive, decoration, and to make a part of a portion of the unit or a whole body to be a non-magnetic or a magnetic. Such a technique is considered as particularly effective when a part of material, for example, only the engaging portion


65


of the slider


56


, is to be made magnetic. Also, while in the embodiment described above, the magnet


22


was made as part of the first assembly that is not critical and magnet


22


may be housed in the second assembly. For example, magnet


22


may be placed between the annular frame


66


and the reinforcing plate


80


of the second assembly or in between the slider


56


and the annular frame


10


if the reinforcing plate is omitted. The magnet may be made of a plastic magnet material, or applied by plating. Further, though the present invention of the magnetic fixing unit as a whole is shown to have a cylindrical shape, it is not always necessary to be cylindrical. For example, a square cylindrical shape, an ellipse cylindrical shape, or any other of a variety of shapes can be used for the magnetic fixing unit.




The annular plate


10


is, as described previously, not necessarily made of a magnetic material. It is obvious that if the annular plate


10


is made of a on-magnetic material, the magnet or the cylindrical sleeve


26


is not fixed to the annular plate


10


by an operation of the magnet


22


. However, it is sufficient if the magnet or the cylindrical sleeve


26


is fixed by welding or by an adhesive, caulking, screw stop, or the other various methods. Similar structural considerations govern when the retainer is fixed on the magnet.




Further, the head


38


is, as described previously, preferably made of a non-magnetic material. However, the head


38


is not necessarily of a non-magnetic material, and may instead be made of a magnetic material.




Further, the cylindrical sleeve


26


of the first assembly does not necessarily pass through the closed housing space between the housing member


40


and the annular frame


66


. Instead, it only needs to reach the near side of the slider


56


. Even in this case, the slider


56


may be movable to the lock position due to the operation of magnet from the cylindrical sleeve


26


.




As described in the conventional art, though the exterior appearance may be affected if the annular projected-out portion is formed on the second assembly, the guide


69


and the annular projected-out portion effectively prevent the horizontal mutual shifting between the first and the second assemblies.




For example, an annular projected-out portion or rum-shaped guide, may be formed on a circular rim of the annular frame of the second assembly which is shown in

FIG. 3

, in particular, a side surface on the attracting surface of


67


. When the first and second assemblies are engaged with each other, the rim-shaped guide covers the circular rim of the first assembly (the example of the embodiment is the cover


30


or the circular rim of the magnet


22


when the cover


30


is not formed), and thus prevents a vertical direction of mutual shifting between the first and second assemblies.




Further, it is possible to prevent mutual shifting in a horizontal direction between the first and second assemblies by forming only the rim-shaped guide instead of the guide


69


.




For example, a height of a rim-shaped projected-out portion is formed on the second assembly, that is, the height of the rim-shaped projected-out portion on a direction normal (a combination direction of the first and second assemblies) to a front surface of the second assembly (the example of the embodiment is the annular frame


66


), and that height is made substantially the same or higher than that of the engaging pin formed on the first assembly.




In other words, it is substantially the same or higher than the height of projection of the engaging pin from the front surface of the first assembly (the example of the embodiment is the cover


30


or the magnet


22


if the cover


30


is not formed), in the normal direction (the combination direction of the first and second assemblies). Without forming the guide


69


, the horizontal direction of the mutual shifting between the first and second assemblies will be able to be prevented, since a location of the first assembly is stipulated by the rim-shaped projected-out portion of the second assembly as long as the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other.




With a reference to FIG.


6


through

FIG. 8

, an example of the rim-shaped projected-out portion will be described in detail.

FIGS. 4 through 6

show the magnetic fixing unit on a cross-sectional view along a center line the same as that of FIG.


3


. In addition, the item numbers in

FIGS. 6 through 8

are the same as the item numbers in

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 5

to the extent these figures show like numbers with respect to

FIG. 1

to FIG.


5


. However, the guide (


69


in FIG.


2


and

FIG. 3

) described above is not shown in FIG.


6


through FIG.


8


.




The embodiment of

FIG. 6

shows an example of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


and the magnet


22


formed on the first assembly. In the depicted embodiment, rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


is formed on the cover


30


. When the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


formed on the side surface of the attracting surface


31


of the first assembly is led along the side surface


66




a


of the attracting surface


67


of the second assembly, while it is including the attracting surface


67


of the second assembly inside. After the first and second assemblies are engaged with each other, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


covers at least a portion of the side surface


66




a


of the attracting surface


67


of the second assembly. Upon and after the first and the second assemblies being engaged with each other, this component effectively prevents a horizontal direction of shifting between the first and second assemblies. In the example shown in the drawing, though rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


is formed by penetrating and pressing of the magnetic cover


30


, it may be formed by other means. For example, without installing the magnetic cover (not shown in the drawing), the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


may be installed on the main body of the magnet


22


and applied by the other methods. Further, the magnet


22


may be a plastic magnet or a plated plastic magnet.




In particular, as the embodiment shown in

FIG. 6

, when the magnet


22


and the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


are formed in the same assembly, an effect which cannot be expected if these are formed in separate bodies will be obtained. To better describe this effect, the situation when the first and the second assemblies are not engaged with each other will be examined. In this condition, when either assembly installed on the magnet gets close to a magnetic card, in particular, a credit card or a train ticket, the magnetic card is usually destroyed due to an operation of the magnet. However, the installation of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


on the assembly does not allow the magnet card to get closer to said assembly when the magnet card interferes with the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


. This prevents and protects destruction of the magnetic card. As generally known, since an operation of a magnet is decreased inversely proportional to the unobstructed distance squared, even such a small distance as that provided by the rim-shaped projected-out portion


33


produces sufficient effect of protecting against damage to magnetic cards.




The embodiment in

FIG. 7

, in contrast, shows an example of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


and the magnet


22


being formed on the second assembly. However, in this embodiment, unlike that of

FIG. 6

, a cover is not formed on the annular frame


66


but, instead, a rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


is formed there. Since the magnet


22


and the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


are formed on the same assembly, similar to that of the embodiment in

FIG. 6

, destruction of a magnet card will be prevented or effectively protected against. Similar to the embodiment in

FIG. 6

, in this embodiment, when the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


formed on the side surface of the attracting surface


67


of the second assembly is led along the side surface


10




a


of the attracting surface


11


of the first assembly as it encloses over the attracting surface


11


of the first assembly inside. After the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


covers at least a portion of the side surface


10




a


of the attracting surface


11


of the first assembly. Therefore, upon and after the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, this component effectively prevents a horizontal direction of shifting between the first and the second assemblies. In the example shown in the drawing, though rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


is formed by penetrating and pressing of the annular frame


66


, it may be formed by other means. The member shown in

FIG. 7

by reference number


13


is a magnetic gap member.




In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 7

, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


not only prevents horizontal mutual shifting but also produces another effect. More particularly, when the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, these assemblies are closed with each other under the slightly shifting condition. As described with reference to

FIG. 5

, when this present invention of the magnetic fixing unit is applied to a main body of a handbag and a handbag lid, said condition is frequently occurred). In such a condition the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly is not inserted into the hole


71


of the annular frame


66


, and the head may interfere with the front surface (attracting surface


67


) of the annular frame. However, even in such a case, because of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


, as long as the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


of the first assembly is inside of said rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


, the head


38


of the engaging pin


34


makes it easy to lead the hole


71


of the annular frame


66


by a slight shifting of the assemblies (a main body of a handbag and a handbag lid). Therefore, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


has an effect which facilitates engagement of the first and the second assemblies.




The embodiment of

FIG. 8

is in substantial respect a combination of the embodiment of FIG.


6


and the embodiment of FIG.


7


. More particularly,

FIG. 8

shows an example in which a rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


is formed on the second assembly, and the magnet


22


is formed on the first assembly. Therefore, even though it is different from FIG.


6


and

FIG. 7

in that it does not substantially protect or prevent destruction of a magnet card, it can effectively prevent mutual shifting in the horizontal direction between the first and the second assemblies. Further, the embodiment of

FIG. 8

is similar to that of

FIG. 7

in that it enables the first and the second assemblies to easily engage with each other. Also, in the embodiment of

FIG. 8

, when the annular frame is made of a magnetic material, an attracting force between the first and the second assemblies is increased by the rim-shaped projected out portion


75


. Explaining this effect by example, an N pole on the upper portion of the magnet


22


and an S pole on the lower portion of the magnet


22


in

FIG. 8

are assumed. As will be understood, the same effort as described for this example is obtained even if these poles are located in the opposite portions. Referring to the example polarity, magnetism from the upper N pole portion, as shown as the allowance C in the drawing, is led to the S pole side to be passed through the annular frame


66


. At this time, since the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


is installed in this example embodiment, the magnetism from the N pole portion is led to the top portion


75




a


of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


, is propagated from the top portion


75




a


through the air and dropped outward and downward, passed through the annular plate


10


of the first assembly, and finally reaches the S pole side. By being installed on the projected projected portion


75


, the flow of the magnetism from the N pole side effectively reaches both the first and the second assemblies and accordingly, stronger magnetic force between these assemblies is generated. Therefore, by installing the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


, the attractive force between the first and the second assemblies is increased.




In addition, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


strengthens the annular frame


66


. More particularly, the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


increases the strength of the annular frame


66


with respect to resistance to twisting. Since the annular frame is formed from a relatively thin plate, such an effect is very important. As described above, inclusion of the rim-shaped projected-out portion


75


produces considerable functional benefit effects.




The embodiment in

FIG. 9

, in contrast to the embodiment in

FIG. 8

, shows an example in which a rim-shaped projected-out portion


33




a


is formed on the first assembly, and the magnet


22


is formed on the second assembly. (

FIG. 9

uses like labeling as

FIG. 8

for like structure.) Even in this reversed arrangement, a similar effect as described above for

FIG. 8

is obtained.





FIG. 10

depicts another embodiment for preventing mutual shifting in a horizontal direction between the first and the second assemblies, similar to the effect achieved by the embodiments of

FIG. 6

to FIG.


9


. More particularly, the embodiment of

FIG. 10

is an example in which an annular extending guide portion


27


is formed on the first assembly, in particular, at a lower portion of the cylindrical sleeve


26


. An outer diameter of the extending guide portion


27


, in particular, the outer diameter in a direction normal to the axis of engagement of the first and the second assemblies, has substantially the same size as that of the tip of the engaging portion


38


but larger than the cylindrical sleeve


26


. Corresponding to the extending guide portion


27


, the outer diameter of the hole of the second assemblies, in particular, the outer diameter at a location near an entrance to the hole, is formed substantially larger than that of the engaging head


38


or the extending guide portion


27


.




Upon and after the first and the second assemblies are engaged with each other, the extending guide portion


27


of the first assembly is inserted near the entrance of the hole of the second assembly, and thereby effectively prevents the horizontal mutual shifting between these assemblies. The outer diameter of the lower portion of the cylindrical sleeve


26


need not be the same as the outer diameter of the engaging head


38


; if it is made larger than the engaging portion


38


, a similar effect as that described above is produced. For example, although not particularly shown in the drawing, if the cylindrical sleeve has a conical shape, where the diameter of its larger end is made substantially the same or larger than the engaging head


38


, a similar effect as that described above will be produced. Further, the extending guide portion


27


need not be annular shaped and, instead, may be square shaped, pole shaped, or otherwise shaped.




Finally, with reference to

FIG. 11

, another embodiment of the slider


56


,

FIGS. 1 through 5

will be described. The slider


56




a


shown in FIG.


11


and the slider


56


described above with reference to

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 5

have the same shape except for the lever portion


60




a


of

FIG. 11

which connects to the slider


56




a


. Further, the tongue portion of the

FIG. 1

embodiment is omitted from the lever portion


60




a


of the slider


56




a


. Instead, a hole to install an extending member


86


is formed. The lever portion


60




a


of the slider


56




a


can be substantially extended by installing the extending member


86


on the slider


56




a


. The extending member


86


passes, for example, through a clearance between a main body of a handbag (not shown) and a handbag lid, which is necessary if it is installed at a deeper location than that of the edge


7


of the lid


3


. As described previously, the lock between the first and the second assemblies is released by inserting a finger into the clearance and pushing the lever portion of the second assembly. Therefore, the release operation will be difficult or impossible if the second assembly is located at a deeper position.




The extending member


86


comprises two sheet metal parts, namely an inner plate


88


and an outer plate


89


. The sheet metal parts


88


and


89


are respectively formed by penetrating, pressing, and bending of thin metal plate, and then fixed together as described in the drawing. In the fixing process, a center hole


93


of the inner plate


88


receives the projected portion


94


, which goes toward inside of the outer plate. The two sheet metal parts are then caulked together. Other methods of fixing the parts, such as solder, waxing, or spot welding may be substituted. Referring to

FIG. 11

, although the end portion of the outer plate is slightly cut off inward by an arc


95


, it is merely adjusted to the outer periphery of the of the annular frame


66


and the other shape may be applied. Particular note should be made of the top portion of the extending member


86


corresponding to the portion connecting to the slider


56




a


. An opening


90


to receive the lever portion


60




a


of the slider


56




a


is formed there. The size of the opening


90


is large enough to receive the lever portion of the slider


56


. The slider


56




a


is fixed on the top portion by inserting the lever portion


60




a


into the opening


90


, and is taken off from there by pulling the lever portion


60




a


from the opening


90


. However, the slider


56




a


may remain in the fixed condition.




A projection which is made by outer pressure is formed near top center of the inner plate


88


, and this projection forms a part of the opening


90


. In the example of

FIG. 11

, it is not shown as a projection, but as a hollow portion. When the extending member


86


is fixed on the slider


56




a


, the projection


91


is closed coined) by the hole


87


which is formed on the portion corresponding to the slider


56


. The top center portion of the inner plate


88


where the projection


91


is formed may be made to have an elastic displacement by forming a cut


92


on both sides. By the operation of the displacement, the projection


91


of the inner plate


88


is fixed on the hole


87


of the slider


56




a


with predetermined force and is also taken off from the hole


87


. To effect better installation and removal of the extending member


86


, the inner plate


88


can be made of phosphorus bronze. However, iron, or another metal, or a nonmetallic material such as plastic may also be used for the inner plate


88


. Though the material of the outer plate


89


is not particularly limited, to obtain higher strength, both the inner plate


88


and the outer plate


89


are preferably made of metal (brass, iron or the other material).




This invention has been described in reference to specific example embodiments. It should be readily understood that many variations and arrangements, which are within the spirit and scope of the described invention will be seen by one of ordinary skill upon reading the present description. These variations and arrangements are suggested by this description and are within the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A magnetic fixing unit comprising:a first magnet; a first housing assembly formed around said first magnet and having a projection extending in a first axis, said projection having an abutment surface at an angle to said first axis; a second housing assembly having a front face, a back face, a receptacle extending from an opening on said front face toward said back face, and an outer surface extending from said front face to said back face, said receptacle dimensioned to accommodate said projection, said receptacle extending in a second axis, said second housing assembly having a channel opening on said outer surface and a passage opening into said receptacle; a slide member arranged with a manual actuation portion extending through and movable in said channel, having at least a portion made of a material attracted by a magnetic force, and having an abutment stop, wherein said first magnet, said projection, said abutment surface, said channel, said passage and said slide member are arranged such that when said projection is inserted into said receptacle a magnetic force from said first magnet urges slide member in a first direction within said channel such that said abutment stop extends into said passage and said abutment and said abutment stop prevent said projection from being withdrawn, and when a manual force is applied to said manual actuation portion in a direction opposite said first direction said slide member moves said abutment out of said passage away from said projection thereby releasing said projection from said receptacle, and wherein said first housing assembly includes: a fixing member for attaching to an external fabric or leather, having a support plate with a top surface and a back surface and a plurality of prongs extending away from said back surface; an annular plate secured to said top of surface of said fixing member; a cylindrical magnet arranged on said annular plate having a center through hole; a cylindrical sleeve arranged within said center through hole of said cylindrical magnet; and a top housing plate having a center clearance hole, arranged over said tope surface of annular plate, said cylindrical magnet and said cylindrical sleeve, and fixed to said annular plate, wherein said projection includes a stem extending through said center clearance hole and into a center of said cylindrical member.
  • 2. A magnetic fixing unit comprising:a first magnet; a first housing assembly formed around said first magnet and having a projection extending in a first axis, said projection having an abutment surface at an angle to said first axis; a second housing assembly having a front face, a back face, a receptacle extending from an opening on said front face toward said back face, and an outer surface extending from said front face to said back face, said receptacle dimensioned to accommodate said projection, said receptacle extending in a second axis, said second housing assembly having a channel opening on said outer surface and a passage opening into said receptacle; a slide member arranged with a manual actuation portion extending through and movable in said channel, having at least a portion made of a material attracted by a magnetic force, and having an abutment stop, wherein said first magnet, said projection, said abutment surface, said channel, said passage and said slide member are arranged such that when said projection is inserted into said receptacle a magnetic force from said first magnet urges slide member in a first direction within said channel such that said abutment stop extends into said passage and said abutment and said abutment stop prevent said projection from being withdrawn, and when a manual force is applied to said manual actuation portion in a direction opposite said first direction said slide member moves said abutment out of said passage away from said projection thereby releasing said projection from said receptacle, wherein said slide member includes a flat plate having a center clearance hole and an outer periphery having a substantially circular shape aligned substantially concentric with said center clearance hole and said lever includes a structure extending outward from said outer periphery, wherein said abutment stop includes a structure extending into said center clearance hole.
  • 3. A magnetic fixing unit according to claim 2 wherein said channel and said passage are substantially collinear and wherein said slide member lever structure extending outward from said outer periphery extends substantially collinear with said abutment stop structure extending into said center clearance hole.
  • 4. A magnetic fixing unit according to claim 3 wherein said second housing assembly includes:a second housing base plate; and a second housing upper plate having an upper mating surface extending in a plane substantially normal to said second axis, and a center clearance hole opening in the plane of said upper mating surface and a substantially cylindrical inner structure surrounding said center clearance hole, extending in the direction of said second axis and having a first cut-away section, outer attachment structure surrounding said upper mating surface and having a second cut-away extending substantially parallel to said upper mating surface, and wherein said second housing upper plate is attached to said second housing base plate with said slide member arranged between said second housing base plate and said second housing upper plate, said receptacle includes said substantially cylindrical inner structure, said channel includes said upper housing plate first cut-away, and said passage includes said upper housing plate second cut-away.
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