Locking Safety Pin and Key Carrier

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an improved type of locking safety pin that may be used for garments, diapers, etc. and, particularly, that may be securely attached to the clothing of the wearer for safely carrying elements such as keys.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Conventional safety pins involve the use of a flexible wire body, a latch head that is carried by one end of the body, and a flexible pin that is carried by the other end for snap-engagement within the latching head. Such a type of pin tends to become bent and damaged in usage and thus is not fully safe when used in connection with clothing, etc. of the user. There has been a need for a type of pin which will be sure latching or locking in its operation and which will retain its latched relation in ordinary, as well as rough usage. In my U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,076, I disclosed a safety pin device which eliminated inherent deficiencies of and difficulties encountered in the use of a conventional pin. The present invention deals with an improved type of automatic latching safety pin device which will have a better operative relationship of its parts, can be more easily assembled and disassembled, and may be utilized for carrying elements or objects, such as keys, in a safe relation.

It has thus been an object of the invention to provide an improved locking safety pin device.

Another object has been to devise a pin device that can be thumb and finger operated initially against torsion force exerted by one spring for moving a latching loop end part thereof out of a latching position with respect to a pointed pin part, and which may then be operated against torsion force exerted by a second spring for turning such latching part to a sidewise-open or clearance-defining relation with respect to the pointed end of the pin part thereof.

A further object of the invention has been to devise a locking pin that is adapted to receive and carry elements such as keys in a safe manner as suspended from clothing of the wearer.

A still further object of the invention has been to provide a locking pin device of a safety type that has a lower part constructed to receive and carry key elements in a supported relation thereon and that is provided with means for retaining the key elements in position on a lower loop part when its pin part is being opened or is in an open position for mounting the device on clothing or the belt of a person.

These and other objects will appear to those skilled in the art from the illustrated embodiment and the claims.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a side view in elevation showing a locking pin device constructed in accordance with the invention in a fully closed, latched position, and with its key retention pin or foot in a fully closing-off position;

FIG. 2 is a side view on the scale of and similar to FIG. 1, except that it shows the parts of the pin device in a preliminary unlatched position attained by turning its operating sleeve part clockwise to raise its upper loop part out of a retaining or latching position with respect to the pointed end of a pin part;

FIG. 3 is a side view on the same scale as FIGS. 1 and 2, but showing the device in a fully open position in which its sleeve part has been employed to turn the upper loop part to the right, away from the end of the pin part, to present an opening or clearance spacing therebetween into which clothing may be introduced to pass the pin part therethrough; this view also shows a pivotally mounted closure foot or pin in an endwise-open position to receive an element to be carried on its lower loop part, such as a key;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, side fragmental elevation in partial section, with the parts of the device in the closed or latched position of FIG. 1, and particularly illustrating the cooperating parts or elements that control the operation of its sleeve part;

FIG. 5 is a fragmental side view in elevation on the enlarged scale of FIG. 4 and in partial section, showing the relation of operating parts when the device is in the intermediate position of FIG. 2; at this time, an open notch or slot in the upper loop part has been raised to clear a pointed end of the pin part;

FIG. 6 is a view on the scale of similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, but illustrating the final sidewise-open, turned position of the upper loop part shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a fragmental view on the scale of and taken along the line of VII--VII of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view further illustrating the construction of individual parts or elements of the device.

A locking safety pin unit or device 10 has been provided having an upper, pin-closing, hollow or tubular latching loop part or nose 11, a lower, key-retaining hollow or tubular loop or base part 12, a rigid, pointed pin part 13 which is secured at its lower or back end to securely extend from within and in rigid relation from an outer or front end of the lower loop part 12, and a rotatable, operating sleeve part 14. Opening and closing movement of the upper or latching loop part 11 is accomplished by the rotatable sleeve part 14 that is positioned over and between an inner or back end of the upper loop part 11 and an inner or back end of the lower loop part 12 to operatively connect them together. The sleeve 14 is flexibly or resiliently resisted in its manually effected forward turning movement by a spiral torsion spring 16 that is operatively carried within the back end portion of the lower loop part 12. An initial turning of the sleeve part 14 advances a cam end portion 15a of a wire-like camming element 15 from a lowermost position to an uppermost position within a closed end, spiral or forwardly upwardly sloped, camming guide slot or groove portion 14a of the sleeve part 14. The camming element 15 is of spring-like, inverted V-shape, and has a cross extending side leg that serves as cam end portion 15a that extends through a side hole 11b in the wall of the back end portion of the upper loop part 11 to ride in the slot portion 14a.

As shown particularly in FIG. 4, the element 15 of somewhat spring-like metal construction has a lower, V or loop-shaped portion or body 15b which is shouldered or bent to frictionally fit under slight tension or in a sprung relation within the hollow wall of the inner or back end of the upper loop part 11. Its outwardly projecting cam end portion 15a extends at right angles with respect to the loop portion 15b through the side hole 11b into the closed-end, camming guide slot portion 14a. The sleeve 14 is principally retained in an operating position by the cam end portion 15a and may be removed for disassembly of the device 10 by pressing-in the end portion 15a to clear the guide slot portion 14a. When the sleeve 14 is inserted by sliding it on an inner end of the upper loop part 11, the end 15a will snap into the guide slot 14a.

The operating relationship between the cam end 15a and slot 14a enables the latching loop part 11 to be raised in such a manner as to clear a pointed end 13a of the pin part 13 from a latched or retained position within the open end of the loop part 11, such that the pointed end 13a may move sidewise out through a V-shaped side slot, recess or notched portion 11a. Such initial manual turning of the sleeve 14 is accomplished against torsion resistance offered by a spiral torsion spring 16 to advance the cam or pin end portion 15a of the element 15 from its initial left hand end position of FIG. 1 (lowermost position of FIG. 8) in abutment with a lower end of the slot portion 14a to a final, right hand or clockwise advanced position in abutment with the other or upper end of the slot portion 14a (uppermost position of FIG. 8). This effects a full axial raising of the latching loop part 11 to clear or unlatch the pointed pin end 13a (see FIGS. 2 and 5). A swing-turning of the loop part 11 to the right is accomplished after the cam end 15a engages the upper or right hand end of the slot portion 14a and is effected under further spring tension, as controlled by torsion-turning and compressing, relatively small, lower-positioned, spiral, torsion spring 16.

The torsion spring 16 is shown (see FIGS. 4, 7 and 8) provided with a relatively long, side-positioned leg end portion 16a which extends from one end of its centrally positioned, spirally looped body downwardly or axially, longitudinal in abutment along the outside of the wall of the inner or back end portion of the bottom loop part 12 to latch-engage with a lower end portion of the sleeve part 14. The side leg portion 16a and a shorter length, opposite leg portion 16b that abuts the edge of the back end portion of the lower loop part 12, in effect, anchor the body of the spring 16 in an operating position within the hollow wall of the back end portion of the lower loop part 12. The sleeve 14 has a latching, cross-notch or recessed portion 14b that is shown open across a slightly inwardly turned or tapered, lower end, rim or flange edge portion 14c of the sleeve part 14. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a longitudinal recess or slot portion 14d extends from one cross notch 14b along the inside of the wall of the sleeve part 14 to receive and latch with the leg 16a of the spring 16. The lower end of the leg 16a of the spring 16 is adapted to fit or latch-engage within the latching recess portion 14d of the sleeve part 14 to anchor it for flexible, torsion turning movement during a forward manual rotation of the sleeve part 14. The lower, tapered-in end portion 14c of the sleeve part 14 is adapted to slide-on the back end portion of the lower loop part 12, with the leg 16a in alignment with and extending into the cross notch 14b and the recess 14d. The notches 14b give the tapered end portion 14c of the sleeve part 14 a flexible, snap-in type of fit within a circular groove or recess portion 12e to removably retain the sleeve part in a rotative operating position on the lower loop part. The spiral turns or convolutions of the main body of the spring 16 fit within an inner or back end operating portion 12b of the bottom loop part 12, and its shorter leg portion 16b rests in cross abutment on an end wall edge of the part 12. Normally when the spring 16 is unflexed, the spirals of its central body have a relatively wide spaced relation, and when it is flexed by a forward rotation of the sleeve part 14, the spacing is lessened. The torsion flexing of the spring 16 is effected by reason of the connected or interlatched relation of its leg portion 16 within the notch 14b and the recess or slot 14d in the lower end of the sleeve part 14.

As shown, the inner ends of the hollow, upper and lower loop parts 11 and 12, each has an offset camming tab or tail end portion 11c and 12c. The portions 11c and 12c serve as operating end portions that have a somewhat complementary interfitting relation when the device 10 is in its fully latched position of FIGS. 1 and 4. However, the upper loop part 11 has a cut-out camming tab or tail portion 11d extending about half way from the end of the portion 11c that functions to permit the turning of the loop part 11 to its final, sidewise-open position of FIG. 3.

In operation, the sleeve part 14 may be manually gripped between the thumb and index finger of the hand of the user and turned forwardly (clockwise) against the tension of spring 16 from the position of FIGS. 1 and 4 to the axially raised, pin end clearing position of FIGS. 2 and 5. At the end of this part of the operation, the lug or cam end 15a of the camming element 15 has reached the uppermost closed end of the guide slot portion 14a in the sleeve 14. To complete the operation, the manual forward turning force is continued so as to swing the upper loop part 11 to a side-positioned, open or clearance defining relation with the end 13a of the pin 13. This is accomplished against further torsion or turning tension exerted by the lower spring 16, and is enabled by the forwardly offset cut-off tail end portion 11d which, when in a raised position with respect to the loop part 11, will engage the semi-circular tail end portion 12c of the inner or back end of the lower loop part 12 to ride thereover.

Since the leg 16a is turned about the end portion of the lower loop 12 by reason of its latched position within recess portion 14c of the sleeve 14 when the sleeve is rotated, this induces a tightening tensioning of the spirals or convolutions of the central body of the spring 16 to build up its turning resistance when the sleeve 14 is rotated to open the pin 13. After the end 13a of the pin has been inserted within an article of clothing, the manual turning force on the sleeve 14 may be released which results in an automatic, initial, swing-back of the upper loop part 11 from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 2, as effected by the built-up tension of the lower-positioned spiral swing 16. The upper loop part or nose 11 is then automatically axially lowered or returned from the raised position of FIG. 2 to the fully closed, downward, latching position of FIG. 1 under residual tension force exerted by the spring 16 to, in cooperation with the cam end 15a and the camming slot portion 14a, complete the automatic closing and latching operation.

It will be noted that when the upper and lower loop parts 11 and 12 are in a fully latched relation with respect to each other, that their half cut-out tab or tail portions 11c and 12c are in a substantially complementary interfitting relationship. However, when the upper or nose part 11 is in its position of FIGS. 2 and 5, the tab end portion 11c is raised substantially one-half its length with respect to the tab end portion 12c to a position at which the innermost end of the offset tab portion 11d will ride on the back or inner end of the tab portion 12c.

As above pointed out, the operating sleeve part 14 can be downwardly slid-off or removed from its normal cross-connecting and mounting relation over innermost or back end portions of the upper loop 11 by pushing-in the cam end 15a of the upper spring 15 to clear it with respect to the guide slot 14a. It may then be endwise-upwardly slid-off the back end portion of the lower loop part 12. However, the camming element 15 and the spring 16 will remain in their respective positions on the loop parts 11 and 12 until they are separately removed against their tension-retained respective mounted positions.

To enable the use of the lower loop part 12 for receiving and retaining elements, such as keys, in a secure relation thereon, it is shown provided with an enlarged body diameter. In addition, a closure element 17 of pin-like or wire rod construction is swingably carried adjacent the innermost end of the body of the lower loop part 12 to extend towards and into a frictional closing engagement with a slightly depressed latch or keeper portion 12d adjacent the opposite end of the loop body. As shown particularly in FIG. 1, the closure element or part 17 has a curvilinear pivotal mounting portion 17a that extends along the interior of the tubular wall of the loop part 12. In FIG. 3, the element 17 is shown in its open position at which time keys or other eyelet carrying elements may be inserted over the open pin 13 into the encircling wall of the body of the loop part 12. Thereafter, the pin-like element 17 may be closed to retain a key-like element wholly within the encircling body of the loop portion of the part 12. The foot of the closure element 17 is preferably of slightly flexible metal construction to provide a "snap-in" and "snap-out" of its end within the keeper or latch portion 12d.