Abstract:
The present invention provides embodiments of eyeglass cases in combination with structure for retaining an elongated object, such as a writing instrument.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention is directed to the field of eyeglass containers and cases, and in particular, to eyeglass containers that perform a function in addition to holding and retaining eyeglasses, and in particular, to performing the function of holding and retaining an elongated object, which may be a writing instrument, a screwdriver, flashlight, or any of a large number of possibilities.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Instruments having additional functionality have been disclosed in the art. The present applicant is the named inventor on several patent applications in which a case portion is provided to retain and hold eyeglasses and an additional structure is provided to retain an elongated object, such as a writing instrument. Those applications may include one or more of:  
           [0003]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/775,156 filed Feb. 1, 2001;  
           [0004]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/776,606 filed Feb. 2, 2001;  
           [0005]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/776,473 filed Feb. 2, 2001;  
           [0006]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/776,614 filed Feb. 2, 2001;  
           [0007]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/847,527 filed May 1, 2001;  
           [0008]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/931,221 filed Aug. 16, 2001;  
           [0009]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/002,253 filed Nov. 2, 2001;  
           [0010]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/037,687 filed Jan. 3, 2002; and  
           [0011]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/153,638 filed Jan. 11, 2002,  
           [0012]    All of which applications are pending all of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present invention provides embodiments of eyeglass cases in combination with structure for retaining an elongated object, such as a writing instrument. In one embodiment, the container is comprised of a body having sidewalls that define a hollow portion into which eyeglasses may be inserted. The body has a first open end, providing the opening for inserting the eyeglasses, and a second end. A cap engages with the open first end of the body. Removal of the cap allows access to the hollow storage portion of the container. When the eyeglasses are place in the hollow portion and the cap is placed over the first open end of the body, the glasses can be retained in the container.  
           [0014]    In one embodiment, a hinge may be employed to join the cap to the body. The hinge may be a pin extending through bores, provided in the body and the cap to link together the cap and body. In this embodiment, the cap is opened in a flip top arrangement.  
           [0015]    Structure is provided on the container in order to hold and retain an elongated object. The structure may be a clamp mounted on a side of the container, such as on the body, which frictionally engages the elongated object. The clamp can be U-shaped, or it can be ring shaped. The clamp may be sized to form a frictional engagement with the elongated object. One clamp may be provided, or a plurality of clamps may be provided. In one embodiment, a clamp and recess arrangement is provided for retaining and holding the elongated object. In yet another embodiment, relative to each other, the claim is located closer to the second end and the recess is provided closer to the first end. The recess is provided in a region of the body that has a width dimension greater than the width dimension where the clamp is located. In this embodiment, an end of the object is positioned within the recess in the wider portion of the body, while the clamp located on the less-wide portion of the body engages the elongated object.  
           [0016]    The elongated object may be any kind of elongated object imaginable. It may be a writing instrument, such as a pen, pencil, magic marker, highlighter, or a piece of chalk, to name of just a few of the objects that come under the term “writing instrument”. It may be a light source such as a flashlight or a laser pointer, to name but two objects that come under the term “light source”. It may be a thermometer, or a case for holding a thermometer. It may be a case for holding medication. It may be a screwdriver, or a screwdriver kit. In any event, the preceding are just mere examples of “elongated objects” and the particular elongated object held and retained by the container is not intended to be a limiting consideration in assessing the scope of the claims of the present filing.  
           [0017]    In yet another embodiment, the body has a clam shell arrangement, as described below, and is provided with the structures to retain and hold the elongated objects described above. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    FIGS.  1 - 5  show an embodiment of the present invention:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a view from the second end to the first end of the embodiment, with the elongated object removed from the retaining structure;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a view from the second end to the first end of the embodiment, with the elongated object present;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment with the elongated object removed from the retaining structure;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment, with the elongated object removed from the retaining structure;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is an embodiment that introduces a variation on the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 5 ;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of another variation on the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 5 ;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    Turning to the embodiments of FIGS.  1 - 5 , the container  10  is comprised of a body  12  having sidewalls that define a hollow portion into which eyeglasses may be inserted. The body  12  has a first open end  11 , providing the opening for inserting the eyeglasses, and a second end  15 , which in some embodiments, may or may not have an opening, but in this disclosure shall be described and depicted as closed. A cap  14  engages with the open first end  11  of the body  12 . Removal of the cap allows access to the hollow storage portion of the container. When the eyeglasses are place in the hollow portion and the cap is placed over the first open end of the body, the glasses are retained in the container. The cap may be provided with a skirt  23  (best seen in FIG. 6) that extend outward from the cap  14 , and which is has a perimeter smaller than the perimeter of the cap at the opening. The perimeter of the skirt engages with the inner wall of the body  12  in a frictional engagement so that the cap is retained in place.  
         [0031]    Turning back to FIGS.  1 - 5 , a hinge  16  may be employed to join the cap  14  to the body  12 . The hinge is constructed of a pin  17  that extend through bores  19  and  21 , provided in the body  12  and the cap  14 , respectively, linking together the cap and body. In this embodiment, the cap is opened in a flip top arrangement.  
         [0032]    Structure is provided on the container  10  in order to hold and retain an elongated object. The structure may be a clamp  18  mounted on a side of the container  10 , such as on the body  12 , which frictionally engages the elongated object  20 . As shown in FIGS.  1 - 5 , the clamp  18  is U-shaped, however, in other embodiments the clamp is ring shaped. The clamp  18  may be sized to form a frictional engagement with the elongated object  20 . One clamp may be provided, or as shown with respect to other embodiments, a plurality of clamps may be provided.  
         [0033]    FIGS.  1 - 5  show a clamp  18  and recess  22  arrangement that retains and holds the elongated object. The clamp is located closer to the second end and the recess  22  is provided closer to the first end. The recess  22  is provided in a region of the body  12  that has a width dimension greater than the width dimension where the clamp is located. In this embodiment, an end of the elongated object positions within the recess  22  in the wider portion of the body, while the clamp located on the less-wide portion of the body grips the elongated object.  
         [0034]    The elongated object may be any kind of elongated object imaginable. It may be a writing instrument, such as a pen, pencil, magic marker, highlighter, or a piece of chalk, to name of just a few of the objects that come under the term “writing instrument”. It may be a light source such as a flashlight or a laser pointer, to name but two objects that come under the term “light source”. It may be a thermometer, or a case for holding a thermometer. It may be a case for holding medication. It may be a screwdriver, or a screwdriver kit. In any event, the preceding are just mere examples of “elongated objects” and the particular elongated object held and retained by the container is not intended to be a limiting consideration in assessing the scope of the claims of the present filing.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 6 shows an embodiment that is similar to the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 5 . In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a hinge is not employed. Instead, the cap is retained on the body by the frictional engagement that results when the skirt  23  of the cap  14  engages the inner wall of the body  12 . This arrangement was previously described.  
         [0036]    In yet another embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a clamshell design comprises the body  12 . The body  12  is provided with a lower half  12   a , an upper half  12   b , which are joined together by hinge  16 ′. The upper half  12   b  is provided with the structure to retain and hold the elongated object  20 , which, as in FIGS.  1 - 6 , is a recess  22  provided on the body and a clamp  18 .  
         [0037]    Yet another embodiment is shown in FIG. 8. Here, the container has a clamshell design, having lower half  12   a  and upper half  12   b . The upper half is provided with a singular clamp  18 ′ for retaining the elongated object. The clamp, as shown in this Figure, is a ring shaped arrangement that forms a tunnel through which the elongated object is inserted. It should be understood that this arrangement can be employed with the cap and body arrangements shown in FIGS.  1 - 6 .  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 9 shows another embodiment in which the container has a clamshell design, having lower half  12   a  and upper half  12   b . The upper half is provided with the structure to retain and hold the elongated object, which is a recess  22  provided on the body, and a clamp  18 ′ having a ring shape that forms a tunnel through which the elongated object is inserted.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 10 shows another embodiment in which the container has a body and cap arrangement. Here, the structure to retaining and holding the elongated object is a plurality of U-shaped clamps  18 . While FIG. 10 shows two clams, any number of clamps may be employed. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, structure to retain and hold the elongated object may be a plurality of rings  18 ′.  
         [0040]    Numerous modification and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above discussion. It will be appreciated that many modifications and other variations that will be appreciated by those skilled in the art within the intended scope of this invention without departing from the teachings, spirit and intended scope of the invention.