Cellular phone pouch assembly adapted to be mounted on a bar

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a cellular phone pouch assembly, more particularly to one that is adapted to be mounted on a bar.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cellular phone pouch assembly 1 is shown to include a pouch body 11 and an inverted U-shaped clip 12. The pouch body 11 is adapted to receive the cellular phone 10 therein. The pouch body 11 includes a rear pouch wall 111, and a securing piece 113 fixed to an outer wall surface of the rear pouch wall 111 and cooperating with the rear pouch wall 111 to confine a clamping space. The securing piece 113 is formed with an insert slot 114 for access into the clamping space. The inverted U-shaped clip 12 has an anchoring plate portion 121 secured to the pouch body 11, a resilient engaging portion 124 disposed behind the anchoring plate portion 121, and a bridging plate portion 122 interconnecting upper ends of the anchoring and resilient engaging portions 121, 124. The anchoring plate portion 121 of the clip 12 extends into the clamping space via the insert slot 114, and is riveted to both the rear pouch wall 111 and the securing piece 113 by a fastener 120. The resilient engaging portion 124 is further formed with a barb end 125. The barb end 125 is used to retain the clip 12 on a belt 19 when the former engages the latter.

[0006] A main drawback of the pouch assembly 1 resides in that, when the user is riding a motorcycle or bicycle, it is inconvenient for the user to access the cellular phone that is clipped on the belt of the user.

[0007] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a cellular phone pouch assembly that is adapted to be mounted on a bar, such as a motorcycle or bicycle handlebar, for ready access by the user.

[0008] Accordingly, the pouch assembly of this invention is adapted to hold a cellular phone and is adapted to be mounted on a bar. The pouch assembly includes a pouch body, an inverted U-shaped clip, a bar clamping member, a slideable coupling device, and an interlocking device. The pouch body is adapted to receive the cellular phone there in. The inverted U-shaped clip has an anchoring plate portion secured to the pouch body, a resilient engaging portion disposed behind the anchoring plate portion, and a bridging plate portion interconnecting upper ends of the anchoring and resilient engaging portions. The bar clamping member includes a base wall portion and a bar clamp portion connected to the base wall portion and adapted to clamp the bar. The slideable coupling device is formed on and couples slideably and removably the resilient engaging portion of the clip and the base wall portion of the bar clamping member. The interlocking device is provided on and locks releasably the base wall portion of the bar clamping member against sliding movement relative to the resilient engaging portion of the clip.

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional pouch assembly for holding a cellular phone;

[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a pouch assembly for holding a cellular phone according to the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded partly sectional schematic side view of the preferred embodiment;

[0013] FIG. 4 is an assembled partly sectional schematic side view of the preferred embodiment when mounted on a bar; and

[0014] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment when removed from the bar.

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the preferred embodiment of a pouch assembly 2 according to the present invention is shown to be adapted to hold a cellular phone 20 and to be mounted on a bar 21, such as a motorcycle or bicycle handlebar. The pouch assembly 2 includes a pouch body 3, an inverted U-shaped clip 4, a bar clamping member 5, a slideable coupling device, and an interlocking device 6.

[0016] The pouch body 3 is adapted to receive the cellular phone 20 therein, and is formed by sewing together fabric pieces. The pouch body 3 includes a rear pouch wall 31 and a securing piece 36 fixed to an outer wall surface of the rear pouch wall 31, such as by stitching, and cooperating with the rear pouch wall 31 to confine a clamping space. The rear pouch wall 31 is further formed with an extension flap 34 to retain the cellular phone 20 therein. The securing piece 36 is formed with an insert slot 361 for access into the clamping space.

[0017] The inverted U-shaped clip 4 is integrally formed from a plastic material, and has an anchoring plate portion 41 secured to the pouch body 3, a resilient engaging portion 43 disposed behind the anchoring plate portion 41, and a bridging plate portion 42 interconnecting upper ends of the anchoring and resilient engaging portions 41,43. The anchoring plate portion 41 of the clip 4 extends into the clamping space via the insert slot 361, and is riveted to both the rear pouch wall 31 and the securing piece 36 by a fastener 40. The resilient engaging portion 43 is further formed with a barb end 434 to permit retention of the clip 4 on a belt 22, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0018] The bar clamping member 5 includes a base wall portion 51 and a bar clamp portion connected to the base wall portion 51 and adapted to clamp the bar 21. The bar clamp portion is formed as a curved wall portion 52 that curves upwardly from a lower end of the base wall portion 51 toward an upper end 513 of the base wall portion 51. The bar clamp portion cooperates with the base wall portion 51 to confine a bar receiving space 54 adapted for receiving a portion of the bar 21 therein. The bar clamp portion has a distal section 53 that cooperates with the upper end 513 of the base wall portion 51 to confine a gap 55 communicated with the bar receiving space 54. The upper end 513 of the base wall portion 51 is formed with a first fastener hole 561. The distal section 53 of the bar clamp portion is formed with an upward extension 531. The upward extension 531 is formed with a second fastener hole 562 that is registered with the first fastener hole 561. The pouch assembly 2 further comprises a screw fastener including a nut 57 and a screw 60. The screw fastener extends through the first and second fastener holes 561,562 to tighten the upward extension 531 toward the upper end 513 of the base wall portion 51. A cushioning ring 7 is disposed in the bar receiving space 54 and is adapted to be sleeved on the portion of the bar 21.

[0019] The slideable coupling device is formed on and couples slideably and removably the resilient engaging portion 43 of the clip 4 and the base wall portion 51 of the bar clamping member 5. The resilient engaging portion 43 of the clip 4 has an outer wall surface 4301, and opposite lateral edges 4302,4303 formed respectively with a pair of slide rails 432 therealong. Each of the slide rails 432 has a first rail portion 4321 that extends transversely from the outer wall surface 4301, and a second rail portion 4322 that is transverse to the first rail portion 4321 and that extends toward the other one of the slide rails 432. The slide rails 432 cooperate with the outer wall surface 4301 to confine a dovetail groove 433. Moreover, the base wall portion 51 of the bar clamping member 5 has opposite lateral sides formed respectively with a pair of slide grooves 511 therealong to form the base wall portion 51 with a dovetail projection that engages slideably and removably the dovetail groove 433. The dovetail projection and the dovetail groove 433 constitute the slideable coupling device.

[0020] Referring again to FIG. 2, the resilient engaging portion 43 of the clip 4 is further formed with a locking hole 435 therethrough. The base wall portion 51 of the bar clamp member 5 is formed with a spring retaining recess 512. The interlocking device 6 is provided on and locks releasably the base wall portion 51 of the bar clamping member 5 against sliding movement relative to the resilient engaging portion 43 of the clip 4. The interlocking device 6 includes an elongate spring plate received in the spring retaining recess 512 and having an upper fixing portion 61 secured to the upper end 513 of the base wall portion 51 of the bar clamping member 5 by the screw 60, a lower operating portion 62 disposed below the bar clamping member 5, and an intermediate portion 63 interconnects the fixing and operating portions 61, 62. The intermediate portion 63 is formed with a locking projection 611 for engaging removably the locking hole 435. The spring retaining recess 512 is configured to permit the intermediate portion 63 to move away from the clip 4 so as to disengage the locking projection 611 from the locking hole 435 upon operation of the operating portion 62.

[0021] It is noted that, when the user is riding a motorcycle or bicycle, the user can readily access the cellular phone 20 by mounting the pouch assembly 2 on the motorcycle or bicycle handlebar, as shown in FIG. 4. By virtue of the interlocking device 6 and the slideable coupling device, the clip 4 can be removed from the bar clamping member 5 so that the cellular phone 20 can be retained on the belt 22 of the user, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0022] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.