Abstract:
A rotating pin clasp apparatus includes a base member with a cavity formed on the surface of the base member and a rod disposed in the cavity of the base member. The rod includes a recess and a pin utilized for fastening the rotating pin clasp apparatus, where a first end of the pin is rotatably attached to the rod at a pivot. The rod also includes a pin-retaining member for clasping a second end of the pin to the rod and a knob for rotating the rod in the cavity of the base member. A collar is formed on the base member and fitted around the recess of the rod for securing the rod to the base member and for permitting the rod to rotate in the cavity of the base member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a rotating pin clasp apparatus, and more specifically, to a rotating pin clasp apparatus used for fastening a portable device to fabric. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Safety pins are extensively used for conveniently fastening two pieces of fabric together for fastening another object to a piece of fabric. It is also possible to attach a safety pin to a portable device so that the portable device can be fastened to materials such as fabric very easily. In this case, the safety pin is part of the structure of the portable device, and is not meant to be removed to from the portable device. 
   While the portable device having a safety pin is fastened to fabric, the safety pin is serving the purpose of fastening the portable device to the fabric. However, when the portable device is not fastened to fabric, the safety pin is not being used. The owner of the portable device may feel that the portable device does not look very attractive with an exposed safety pin, but has no way of easily removing the safety pin. Moreover, it is also possible that the exposed safety pin may cause injury to the user of the portable device if the user accidentally stubs his or her finger on the unclasped pin. 
   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   It is therefore an objective of the claimed invention to provide a rotating pin clasp apparatus for hiding the pin when the pin is not in use in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. 
   According to the claimed invention, a rotating pin clasp apparatus includes a base member with a cavity formed on the surface of the base member and a rod disposed in the cavity. The rod includes a first recess, a pin having a first end rotatably attached to the rod at a pivot, and a pin-retaining member for clasping a second end of the pin to the rod. A first collar formed on the base member and fitted around the first recess for permitting the rod to rotate in the cavity of the base member. 
   It is an advantage of the claimed invention that the rod can be rotated when the rotating pin clasp apparatus is not fastened to fabric for hiding the pin out of view. Hiding the pin makes the rotating pin clasp apparatus look more attractive and prevents the pin from accidentally causing injury. 
   These and other objectives of the claimed invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram of a portable device having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded diagram of the portable device in which the pin is clasped with the pin-retaining member. 
       FIGS. 3–5  show how the rod is rotated about an axis in the assembled portable device. 
       FIGS. 6–10  illustrate a top view, a front side view, a rear side view, a left side view and a right side view of the portable device according to the present invention. 
       FIGS. 11–12  are exploded diagrams of a portable device having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram of a portable device having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram of a portable device  10  having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The portable device  10  comprises two main parts: a base member  11  and a rod  20 . The base member  11  contains a cavity  12  which has the shape of half of a cylinder. In other words, the cavity  12  has a linear shape across the surface of the base member  11 , and a cross-sectional area of the cavity  12  taken perpendicular to the linear direction of the cavity  12  is a semicircle. When fully assembled, the rod  20  is disposed in the cavity  12 . Due to the half-cylindrical shape of the cavity  12 , the rod  20  is able to rotate in the cavity  12 , as will be shown below. The rod  20  contains a first recess  24  and a second recess  26 , each having a diameter slightly smaller than the portions of the rod  20  adjacent to the first and second recesses  24  and  26 . When the rod  20  is disposed in the cavity  12 , the first recess  24  is surrounded by a first collar  14  and the second recess  26  is surrounded by a second collar  16 . The first collar  14  and the second collar  16  are formed monolithically with the base member  11 . When the portable device  10  is fully assembled with the rod  20  disposed in the cavity  12 , the first collar  14  and the second collar  16  prevent the rod  20  from moving out of the cavity  12 . The first collar  14  and the second collar  16  also have a circular shape for allowing the rod  20  to rotate in the cavity  12 . A pin  28  is used for fastening the portable device  10  to material such as a piece of fabric, or any sturdy material that can be penetrated by a pin. One end of the pin  28  is attached to the rod  20  at a pivot  30 . The pin  28  is able to rotate about the pivot  30  for allowing the pin  28  to be fastened. The other end of the pin  28  is shown as being unfastened in  FIG. 1 . When fastening the pin  28 , the other end of the pin  28  is inserted into a pin-retaining member  32  for clasping the other end of the pin  28  to the rod  28 . A knob  22  is formed at one end of the rod  20  for providing an easy and convenient way of rotating the rod  20  when the portable device  10  is fully assembled. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is an exploded diagram of the portable device  10  in which the pin  28  is clasped with the pin-retaining member  32 . The pin-retaining member  32  used to clasp the pin  28  is similar to that of a safety pin. The pin-retaining member  32  clasps the pin  28  when the portable device  10  is fastened to fabric, and also fastens the pin  28  to prevent the pin  28  from causing injury when the portable device  10  is not fastened to fabric. 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 3–5 .  FIGS. 3–5  show how the rod  20  is rotated about an axis  40  in the assembled portable device  10 . In  FIG. 3 , the pin  28  is facing out away from the base member  11 . This is the position the rod  20  should be in when the pin  28  of the portable device  10  is to be fastened to fabric. The knob  22  can be used to rotate the rod  20  in either a clockwise or counter clockwise direction.  FIG. 4  shows the portable device  10  after the rod  20  has been rotated about 45 degrees in the clockwise direction with respect to the position shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5  shows the portable device  10  after the rod  20  has been rotated 180 degrees with respect to the position shown in  FIG. 3 . Therefore, in  FIG. 5 , the pin  28  is completely hidden and out of view. By rotating the rod  20  so that the pin  28  is out of view, the portable device  10  looks more attractive, prevents the pin  28  from unintentionally snagging on another object, and prevents the pin  28  from accidentally unclasping from the pin-retaining member  32 . 
   As can be seen in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the pivot  30  in which the pin  28  is attached to the rod  20  is actually a wire coil that is commonly used in a safety pin. The wire coil provides a spring force on the pin  28  that urges the other end of the pin  28  away from the rod  20 . Thus, when the pin  28  is unclasped from the pin-retaining member  32 , the pin  28  will spring away from the rod  20  much like a safety pin for allowing the pin  28  to be used to fasten the portable device  10  to fabric. 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 6–10 .  FIGS. 6–10  illustrate a top view, a front side view, a rear side view, a left side view and a right side view of the portable device  10  according to the present invention. In each of the  FIGS. 6–10 , the rod  20  is rotated to a position in which the pin  28  is facing out away from the base member  11 . 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 11–12 .  FIGS. 11–12  are exploded diagrams of a portable device  100  having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The only difference between the portable device  10  of the first embodiment and the portable device  100  of the second embodiment is the formation of a protruding rib  25  on the first recess  24  and the formation of a first indentation  15   a  and a second indentation  15   b  on the first collar  14 . The protruding rib  25  is used to conveniently hold the rod  20  in one of two positions. As the rod  20  is rotated, the protruding rib  25  will move along the inside surface of the first collar  14  and will eventually insert into the first indentation  15   a  or the second indentation  15   b . The first indentation  15   a  is formed on a top part of the inside surface of the first collar  14  at a point farthest away from the base member  11 . On the other hand, the second indentation  15   b  is formed on a bottom part of the inside surface of the first collar  14  at a point closest to the base member  11 . As can be seen from  FIG. 11 , the protruding rib  25  is formed on the surface of the first recess  24  and is preferably placed on the same side or the opposite side of the rod  20  as the pin  28 . 
   When the protruding rib  25  is inserted into either the first indentation  15   a  or the second indentation  15   b , the rod  20  is fixed and cannot rotate unless a torque greater than a predetermined value is applied to the rod  20  to rotate the rod  20 . Although more than two indentations can be formed on the inside surface of the first collar  14 , the use of two indentations provides a simple and functional design. When the protruding rib  25  is inserted into the first indentation  15   a , the pin  28  faces out away from the base member  11 . This allows the pin  28  to be unclasped from and clasped to the pin-retaining member  32  for fastening the portable device  100  to fabric. When the protruding rib  25  is inserted into the second indentation  15   b , the pin faces in towards the base member  11  and is out of view. Therefore, the use of the protruding rib  25  in conjunction with the first indentation  15   a  and the second indentation  15   b  prevents the rod  20  from rotating accidentally and ensures that the rod  20  and the pin  28  are positioned as the user wishes them to be. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 13 .  FIG. 13  is a diagram of a portable device  110  having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The only difference between the portable device  10  of the first embodiment and the portable device  110  of the third embodiment is the formation of a hole  34  in the knob  22  for allowing a string  36  to be tied through the hole  34 . The string  36  can be used for carrying the portable device  110  by, for example, placing the string  36  around the hand or neck of the user. Please keep in mind that the hole  34  does not have to be formed in the knob  22 , and can be formed on any other location in the portable device  110 . 
   In contrast to the prior art, a portable device having a rotating pin clasp apparatus according to the present invention allows the rod containing the clasping pin to be rotated when the rotating pin clasp apparatus is not fastened to fabric for hiding the pin out of view. Hiding the pin makes the rotating pin clasp apparatus look more attractive, prevents the pin from snagging other objects, and prevents the pin from accidentally causing injury. 
   Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.