Pouch assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6571997
  • Patent Number
    6,571,997
  • Date Filed
    Monday, October 15, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 3, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Elkins; Gary E.
    Agents
    • Logan, II; Charles C.
Abstract
A pouch assembly having a pocket member secured to the front wall of a vertically oriented rear panel assembly. The rear panel assembly has a chamber formed in its top half within which is positioned a magnet having a flat front surface. This magnet is adjacent the top end of the pouch member. The magnet functions to hold a limited number of metal fasteners or a metal tool against the front surface of the rear panel assembly where they can be easily grasped by a person wearing the pouch assembly. A vertically oriented non-collapsible rigid tubular member is secured to the front wall of the rear panel assembly inside the pouch member for removably receiving a writing instrument. A spring clip member is secured to the rear wall of the rear panel assembly for detachably securing the pouch assembly on a person's belt or in the top end of a person's pocket.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to a container and more specifically to a pouch assembly that can be worn on a person's belt or clipped on to the top edge of a person's pocket. Presently there are reoccurring occasions when a person is either assembling a structure or disassembling a structure and they need to have easy access to a pouch containing fasteners such as nails, screws, etc. Presently while working most people will periodically take a few fasteners out of a container that is placed near the work area. As they need more fasteners, they have to go back to the supply container and get a refill. There are also times when a person is working while on a ladder assembling or disassembling a structure. They again have the problem of where to store the fasteners they are working with such as in their pockets or holding them in their mouth. These are inconvenient and time inefficient methods of working on a project. Another problem that workers have is lack of a convenient storage place for a pencil.




It is an object of the invention to provide a novel pouch assembly that can be worn on a person's belt or clipped over the top edge of a person's pocket.




It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel pouch assembly that allows small metal fasteners such as nails, screws, bolts etc. to be conveniently held adjacent the upper front surface of the rear panel assembly for easy access.




It is another object of the invention to provide a novel pouch assembly that has a vertically oriented rigid non-collapsible tubular member secured to the rear panel assembly inside the pocket member for removably receiving a writing instrument.




It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel pouch assembly that is economical to manufacture and market.




It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel pouch assembly whose pocket member has sufficient rigidity to keep it from collapsing during normal use.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The novel pouch assembly has two major components, a rear panel assembly and a pocket member that is secured to its front surface. The pocket member preferably has a height greater than 50% of the height of the rear panel assembly. The top end of the pocket member is adjacent a magnet that is positioned between the front wall and the rear wall of the rear panel assembly. The front wall is made of a hard smooth plastic material that allows fasteners such as screws, nails and etc. to be easily dragged on and off the magnet. A vertically oriented rigid non-collapsible tubular member is secured to the rear panel assembly inside the pocket member for removably receiving a writing instrument. The pocket member is preferably made of an inner layer and an outer layer of plastic fabric material that gives it sufficient body to keep it from collapsing during normal use. A spring clip member is secured to the rear surface of the rear panel assembly so that the pouch assembly can be worn on a person's belt or clipped over the top edge of a person's pocket.




The pouch assembly when worn, allows a person to reach into the pouch member and drag a few nails up onto the magnet and then pick one or two off as needed. Another occasion when it is quite useful is when disassembling a light fixture while on a ladder. The pouch assembly allows the storing of the screws on the magnet while also having easy access to them when they are needed. Another use is when a wrench is placed in a stand-up position in the pouch member with the top end of the wrench stuck to the magnet which allows it to be easily accessed. Additionally, when using a cordless drill, the magnet in the rear panel assembly provides a convenient staging area for a drill bit and a driver when they need to be used in an alternating manner.




The pouch assembly can also be used independently as a fastener holder. The screws or nails can be shaken on to the magnet for convenience or just stored in the pouch and taken out one at a time. The smooth surface of the wall member covering the magnet allows the fasteners to be dragged on and off the magnet without the necessity of picking them up and placing them on the magnet.











DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING





FIG. 1

is a front perspective view of the novel pouch assembly;





FIG. 2

is side elevation view with portions shown in vertical cross section and portions broken away; and





FIG. 3

is a rear elevation view of the novel pouch assembly.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




The novel pouch assembly will now be described by referring to

FIGS. 1-3

of the drawing. The pouch assembly is generally designated numeral


10


. Its major basic components are rear panel assembly


12


and pouch member


14


.




Rear panel assembly


12


is formed from a front wall


16


and a rear wall


18


made of a smooth hard plastic material or any other suitable material. A chamber


20


is formed between front wall


16


and rear wall


18


in the upper half of rear panel assembly


12


. One or more magnets


22


having a flat front wall surface are positioned in chamber


20


. Rear panel assembly


12


has a height H


1


in the range of 4-12 inches. A binding trim


24


extends around the perimeter of the rear panel assembly


12


and its stitched thread


26


secures binding trim


24


, front wall


16


and rear wall


18


together.




Pouch member


10


has a front wall


30


, a left side wall


32


, a right side wall


34


and a bottom wall


36


. It is formed of an inner layer


38


and an outer layer


40


. The left side edge of left side wall


32


, the right side edge of right side wall


34


and the front edge of bottom wall


36


are secured to the rear panel assembly


12


by stitched threads


26


. Pouch member


14


has a chamber


42


for receiving an assortment of items such as nails, screws, etc. A rigid non-collapsible tubular member


46


is secured to rear panel assembly


12


by the stitched thread


26


. An abrasion resistant strip


48


is stitched to the top end of pocket member


14


from its left edge to its right edge. Pocket member


14


has a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross section. Pouch member


14


has a height H


2


in the range of 3.5-9 inches. It has a depth D


1


in the range of 1.5-6 inches. It has a width W


1


in the range of 3.5-9 inches. Tubular member


46


has a height H


3


in the range of 1.5-5 inches. Inner layer


38


, outer layer


40


and abrasion resistant strip


48


would be preferably made of woven plastic fabric.




Spring clip member


50


has an elongated front leg


52


, an elongated rear leg


54


, and a U-shaped connecting portion


56


. The bottom end of front panel assembly


12


by a rivet


58


. A finger portion


60


extends downwardly and outwardly from the bottom end of rear leg


54


. A retainer strap


62


extends through the opening


64


of spring clip member


50


and has its opposite ends secured by stitched threads to the rear wall


18


of rear panel assembly


12


. Spring clip member


50


is designed to loop around a person's belt or to clip onto the top edge of a person's pocket.



Claims
  • 1. A pouch assembly comprising a vertically oriented rear panel assembly having a height H1, a width W1, a depth D1, a left edge, a right edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, a front wall and a rear wall; a chamber is formed between said front wall and said rear wall at a predetermined position and at least one magnet is located in said chamber;said at least one magnet having a front surface and a rear surface; a vertically oriented pocket member having a front wall, a left side wall, a right side wall and a bottom wall; said front wall, said left side wall and said right side wall are all substantially vertically oriented; said left side wall having a vertically oriented left edge that is secured to said rear panel assembly; said right side wall having a vertically oriented edge that is secured to said rear panel assembly; said bottom wall having a rear edge that is secured to said rear panel; and support means for reversibly securing said pouch assembly to a person using said pouch assembly.
  • 2. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein H1 is in the range of 4-12 inches.
  • 3. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein W1 is in the range of 3.5-9 inches.
  • 4. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein D1 is in the range of 1.5-6 inches.
  • 5. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said pocket is secured to said rear panel assembly by stitched thread.
  • 6. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said pouch is formed from an outer layer of fabric material and an inner layer of fabric material.
  • 7. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a spring clip.
  • 8. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 7 wherein said spring clip has an elongated front leg having a top end and a bottom end, a rear leg having a top end and a bottom end, a U-shaped connecting portion having spaced ends that are connected to said respective top ends of said front leg and said rear leg.
  • 9. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 8 wherein said bottom end of said front leg of said spring clip is attached to the rear panel assembly by a rivet.
  • 10. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 9 further comprising a finger portion formed on said bottom end of said front leg of said spring clip, said finger portion extending downwardly and outwardly from said rear wall of said rear panel assembly.
  • 11. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein a horizontal cross section of said pouch is substantially U-shaped.
  • 12. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said pouch has a height H2 and H2 is greater than 0.5 H1 and less than H1.
  • 13. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 further comprising a vertically oriented rigid non-collapsible tubular member secured to said front wall of said rear panel assembly for removably receiving a writing instrument.
  • 14. A pouch assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said front wall of said at least one magnet has a substantially flat surface.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
3158300 Withee Nov 1964 A
3361312 Hutchison Jan 1968 A
3978902 Adkison Sep 1976 A
4826059 Bosch et al. May 1989 A
4928823 Campbell May 1990 A
4940250 Corrado Jul 1990 A
5181637 Santilli Jan 1993 A
5259541 Reese Nov 1993 A
5758807 Wright Jun 1998 A