Holder for suspending rule clip or the like

A holder is provided for suspending a measuring rule or similar object, to which is attached a spring clip having an inwardly declined deflectable tongue portion thereon. The holder is of relatively flat configuration and is adapted to be inserted over or upon the belt of the user. It may be of generally U-shaped configuration, with an outer leg having a laterally extending slot configured to receive the tongue portion of the spring clip and defining a relatively narrow lower edge element about which the rule can swing freely, so as to minimize any tendency for inadvertent disassembly. Alternatively, the holder may be of generally rectangular, plate-like form and with edge slots through which the belt is inserted, while still retaining the lower edge feature described. The construction of the holder facilitates one-handed attachment and removal of the rule, without diminishing the security of interengagement afforded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Spring clips are commonly provided on tape rule casings, tools and the 
like, so that such objects can be carried in a handy position on a belt or 
other garment part, and readily removed for use. By themselves, however, 
clips of this type are not optimal in certain respects, particularly as 
concerns the facility and security of engagement that they afford. It is 
often found necessary to use both hands to insert the supporting belt into 
the clip, and it is not uncommon for the rule to become disengaged 
inadvertently, such as by contact of the instrument or tool with a part of 
the user's body; he is of course inconvenienced in both cases. A further 
disadvantage resides in the fact that the frequent attachment and removal 
of the clip causes unsightly marring, and undue wear, of the belt. 
The broad idea of providing a supplemental belt-supported holder, for 
attachment of an article, a ring, or the like, is well known in the art 
and has been developed in a variety of forms, as evidenced by the 
following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 727,402; 781,629; 3,659,759; 3,886,773; 
3,970,227; 3,992,776; 4,226,006; and 4,358,036. Each of the foregoing 
discloses a member adapted for engagement upon a belt, waistband, or other 
garment part. In particular, the Koppe et al patent (U.S. Pat. No. 
3,992,776) provides a spring metal band having a first, belt-retaining 
portion adjacent its upper end and a pair of curvilinear portions adjacent 
its lower end, which provide spring tension for holding a knife sheath; 
the Hardy patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,227) shows a belt clip which has an 
out-turned lip 22 and an inner bend 25; and the Maltais U.S. Pat. No. 
4,358,036 discloses a belt clip having a pocket portion for receiving a 
tongue of a clip permanently fastened to a tool or other object (see FIG. 
7). 
Despite such patent art, a need has remained for a holder that is capable 
of facile assembly with a tape rule or other object having a spring clip 
or similar supporting fixture thereon, for securely engaging the same 
against inadvertent disassembly. Of course, any such holder must itself be 
readily and yet securely engaged on the belt or other garment part and, as 
a practical matter, must also be relatively facile and inexpensive to 
manufacture. 
In copending and commonly assigned application Ser. No. 732,681 filed on 
May 10, 1985 in the name of Bernard G. Lecher, Sr. and entitled RULE CLIP 
HOLDER FOR BELT OR THE LIKE, a holder is disclosed and claimed which 
satisfies, to a substantial extent, the foregoing needs. Nevertheless, the 
holder may not be found to be optimal in all respects, such as with regard 
to the level of security that it provides against inadvertent disassembly 
of the supported object. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel 
holder for suspending a tool or other article, such as a measuring rule, 
having a spring clip or like fixture with a resiliently deflectable tongue 
or insert portion thereon, which holder readily receives and securely 
engages the insert portion, and cooperates therewith to minimize the 
chance of inadvertent disassembly. 
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a holder which is 
itself easily placed and securely affixed or mounted upon a belt or other 
supporting part, and is relatively facile and inexpensive to manufacture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It has now been found that certain of the foregoing and related objects of 
the invention are readily attained in a holder comprising a member having 
a relatively wide (in a lateral sense) and substantially planar lower 
portion with a laterally extending slot formed therethrough adjacent its 
lower edge, and having means thereon for mounting it upon the user's belt. 
A relatively narrow marginal element is defined between the slot and the 
lower edge of the member; the slot is dimensioned and configured for 
facile insertion of the tongue portion of the spring clip of the object to 
be supported, and the belt-mounting means is positioned above the slot so 
as to avoid interference between the belt and the inserted spring clip. 
The marginal element is sufficiently narrow to provide adequate clearance 
for movement within the space defined near the upper connecting portion of 
the spring clip, and it is substantially free from any inward or outward 
offset; as a result, relatively free pivoting of the mounted object 
thereabout is enabled. 
Certain objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a holder 
comprised of generally parallel inner and outer legs, joined for resilient 
relative deflection by an upper connecting portion and adapted to engage a 
belt or similar supporting part inserted upwardly into it. The outer leg 
is substantially longer than the inner one, and has a relatively wide and 
substantially planar lower portion. A laterally extending slot is formed 
through the lower portion adjacent the bottom edge of the outer leg, and 
is dimensioned and configured for facile insertion of a spring clip tongue 
portion. The slot defines a relatively narrow marginal element therebelow, 
and may itself be defined by an inwardly offset upper lip element and an 
outwardly offset lower lip element, which cooperatively facilitate 
insertion of the tongue portion. The inner leg of the clip terminates 
short of the slot in the outer leg, so as to avoid contact with the spring 
clip inserted therethrough, and the marginal element is dimensioned and 
configured to allow the mounted object to pivot freely thereabout. 
In the latter form of holder, the inner leg may also have a relatively wide 
and substantially planar lower portion, with both of the legs desirably 
having lower portions with inwardly extending terminal elements thereon to 
facilitate insertion of the belt and to hamper inadvertent disengagement. 
The member comprising the holder will usually be integrally formed as a 
single piece from a resiliently deflectable material, such as spring 
steel, and it will advantageously be of substantially uniform width along 
its entire length.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the appended drawing, therein illustrated 
is a holder, generally designated by the numeral 2, broadly showing the 
type of device to which the invention is directed, but devoid of certain 
novel features thereof. The holder is of relatively flat, generally 
U-shaped cross section, and is integrally formed from a single strip of 
spring steel or the like, bent upon itself to provide an outer leg 4 and a 
shorter inner leg or tang 6, both of which extend downwardly (in the 
position of normal use) from a curvilinear upper connecting portion 8. 
Each of the legs 4, 6 is generally planar, and has a lower portion 3 which 
is inwardly curled; the curved portion on the inner leg facilitates 
mounting of the holder upon the belt, and that on the outer leg provides 
an element beneath the lower edge of a belt on which it is mounted, 
positioned to interfere therewith and thus minimize the chance of 
inadvertent disassembly. In addition, the lower portion of the outer leg 4 
has an elongated, laterally extending slot 5 formed through it, defined by 
upper and lower lip elements 7, 9, which curve inwardly and outwardly, 
respectively, from the plane of the leg. 
FIGS. 3-8 illustrate a holder embodying the invention, which is generally 
designated by the numeral 10 and is shown in position on a belt 12. Like 
the holder of FIGS. 1 and 2, it is also of relatively flat, generally 
U-shaped cross section, and is similarly formed from a single strip to 
provide an outer leg 14 and a shorter inner leg 16, which extend from the 
curvilinear connecting portion 18. 
Each of the generally planar legs 14, 16 has lower corner portions 20 which 
are inwardly curled to perform the same functions of the portions 3 of the 
embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2; their relationship to the belt 12 is best 
seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. In addition, the lower portion of the outer leg 14 
has a slot 26 similarly defined by curved upper and lower lip elements 28, 
30. In this instance however the marginal element 24, defined on the outer 
leg 14 below the slot 26, is relatively narrow (i.e., relatively small in 
its top-to-bottom dimension), and the terminal edge 17 of the tang 16 is 
biased to a normal position against the inner surface of the upper lip 
element 28; also the section under the lip element 30 is free of inward or 
outward offset (i.e., the planar configuration is maintained). 
In FIGS. 4 and 5, a measuring tape rule of standard design is associated 
with the holder 10. It includes a conventional retaining spring clip, 
generally designated by the numeral 32, attached to one side of its casing 
34 and having a resiliently deflectable tongue portion 36. The latter 
declines toward the casing from an upper connecting portion 35, and 
defines a space 37 which is relatively wide at the top and tapers toward 
the free end of the tongue portion. 
As depicted in FIG. 5 the holder is attached to the belt, and supportingly 
engages the rule; the tongue portion 36 of the clip 32 thereof is inserted 
through the slot 26 of the outer leg 14, to thereby seat the upper 
connecting portion 35 upon the outwardly extending lower lip element 30. 
Because the marginal element 24 is narrow, the distance that the outer leg 
14 projects into the space 37 is limited, thereby avoiding undue 
interference with the clip and permitting the rule to pivot freely on the 
edge of the lip element 30, as suggested by the double-headed arrow in 
FIG. 5. This in turn allows the rule to yield rather than being displaced 
(and thereby disassembled), such as by contact with the hip or upper thigh 
of the user when he bends or crouches, and consequently the form of the 
holder shown in FIGS. 3-8 represents a significant improvement upon that 
of FIGS. 1 and 2. 
In the two embodiments illustrated by FIGS. 1-8, however, the mutually 
offset relationship of the lip elements 7, 9 and 28, 30, respectively, and 
the positioning of the slots 5 and 26 well below the upper edge of the 
belt, will contribute to the facility of assembly and removal of the rule, 
which can normally be achieved with one hand. Also, the upper lip elements 
and the bent portions at the lower edges of the outer legs cooperate with 
the inner legs to retain the holder upon the belt. It will generally be 
necessary that the legs of the holder be flexed somewhat, for insertion as 
well as for removal; conversely, their inherent tension helps to minimize 
the possibility that disassembly will occur inadvertently. The relative 
positions and configurations of the lower portions of the two legs will, 
on the other hand, make attachment to the belt easy and convenient; 
moreover, since the supported article remains in place the damage that 
might otherwise be caused to the belt, by its frequent removal and 
replacement, will be substantially reduced. 
Turning now to FIGS. 9 and 10, a second form of holders embodying the 
invention is generally designated by the numeral 40, and consists of one 
generally planar piece having a central panel portion 42, along both sides 
of which longitudinally extending marginal elements 44 are rearwardly 
offset to define slots 46, through which the user's belt 12 is threaded. 
Thus, the main difference between the holder (40) of these Figures and 
that (10) of FIGS. 3-8 lies in the elimination of the rearward leg 16 in 
the present embodiment, and the provision of the integral passage formed 
by the panel portion 42 and the elements 44. 
The lower portion of the holder 40 has a slot 26 formed therein and defined 
by curved upper and lower lip elements 28, 30, with the marginal element 
24 defined below the slot 26 being planar and of relatively small 
top-to-narrow dimension. As depicted in FIG. 10, the holder 40 
supportingly engages the rule with the tongue portion 36 of the clip 32 
thereof inserted through the slot 26, thereby seating the upper connecting 
portion 35 upon the outwardly extending lower lip element 30. Once again, 
because the marginal element 24 is narrow, the distance that the holder 
projects into the space 37 is limited, thereby avoiding undue interference 
with the clip and permitting the rule to pivot freely on the edge of the 
lip element 30; the absence of any substantial inward or outward offset in 
that portion of the holder also avoids undue interference with such 
movement. 
Consequently, the holder of FIGS. 9 and 10 offers the advantage of 
yielding, against inadvertent disassembly, as is also provided by the 
embodiment of FIGS. 3-8. In addition, it is easier and even less expensive 
to manufacture, because the amount of material used for construction is 
reduced, and it presents no possibility of accidental removal from the 
user's belt. 
Typically a holder of the form shown in the last two figures will be 
generally rectangular, with lateral and longitudinal outside dimensions 
(expressed in millimeters, and parenthetically in inches) of 63.5 (2.5) 
and 70 (2.756), respectively. The length and width of the bottom slot of 
such a holder may desirably be about 41 (1.614) and 1.6 (0.063), to 
thereby provide a lower marginal element with a top-to-bottom dimension of 
about 7.7 (0.303). From the standpoint of permitting freedom of movement 
of the rule on the holder, the last-mentioned dimension is of course the 
most significant; although the actual measurement will depend to some 
extent upon the area within the clip of the rule or other object to be 
supported, as a practical matter it will not generally exceed 15 
millimeters (0.59 inch) at any point thereacross. 
As noted above, the holder will desirably be fabricated from a uniformly 
wide strip or panel of spring steel, and conventional bending and stamping 
operations may be used. It will however be appreciated that other 
materials (notably plastics) can be substituted, with suitable fabrication 
methods being adopted, as appropriate. Specific aspects of manufacture, as 
well as variations in design, will be evident to those skilled in the art 
from the foregoing detailed description, and need not therefore be 
discussed in further detail. 
Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel holder for 
suspending an article, such as a measuring rule, having a spring clip or 
like fixture with a resiliently deflectable tongue or insert portion 
thereon. The holder readily receives and is securely engaged by the tongue 
portion of the clip, and cooperates therewith to minimize the chance of 
inadvertent disassembly. The holder itself is easily placed and securely 
affixed upon a belt, and is relatively facile and inexpensive to 
manufacture.