In-purse key holder

A device for holding a key ring or the like in a handbag which has an elongated one-piece plastic body. The body includes a bill-like portion having a mouth-like opening defining two oppositely disposed jaws arranged and adapted to slip over and resiliently grip an open edged interior compartment wall in the handbag, such as a center compartment wall. An inclined shoulder portion holds the jaws cantilevered in clamping position on the wall. A necked-down substantially elongated key ring holder portion is connected in off-centered relationship to said shoulder oppositely to said mouth, which necked-down portion or protrusion forms a ledge with the shoulder behind the neck for securing and suspending the key ring on the compartment wall where it is eminently visible and readily available.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to in-purse key holder and particularly to a key 
holder mounted on an interior compartmental wall of a ladies handbag. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The difficulty in locating keys and similar objects in a woman's handbag, 
when they are desired for use, is well known, and many devices have been 
proposed and patented in an effort to deal efficiently with the problem. 
However, the devices of the prior art leave much to be desired with 
respect to ease of operation and methods of attachment thereof to the 
handbag or purse. Many of such devices requiring complicated fasteners to 
secure the key holder to the purse, and complicated means for holding the 
key ring or chain to the holder. 
It is important that the key holder be made readily available, and easily 
placed in position for use in the handbag, and the devices heretofore 
disclosed do not provide for such characteristics. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, the problems and difficulties that are encountered in the 
prior art using conventional in-purse key holders are obviated by the 
present invention, in which is provided an in-purse holder for keys and 
the like which is readily attached to a compartmentalized wall of the 
purse, and to which holder the key ring or other key fastening means may 
be readily attached or removed. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bifurcated key 
holder that will fasten readily to a compartment wall of the purse. 
It is another object of this the present invention to provide a bifurcated 
key holder that will fasten to a compartmentalized wall having hook means 
operable, in conjunction with a handle or neck portion, to secure the key 
ring inside a purse. 
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become 
subsequently apparent from the details of construction and operation of 
the invention as more fully described and claimed below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a woman's handbag 
10 of conventional construction is illustrated as having generally 
vertical walls 11 and 12 spaced closely together to define a partition 30 
having a top edge 31 over which is mounted a key ring or chain holder 13 
according to the instant invention. 
Holder 13 comprises a one-piece body about 3/12 inches long, constructed of 
relatively hard resilient plastic having walls defining an elongated 
generally rectangularly outlined wide bill-like portion 14, having a 
length of about 2/3 of the body length as seen in FIG. 5, said bill 
portion having a forward generally flat wall 22, a rear wall 42, a right 
side wall 27, and a left side wall 40. A deep, substantially straight 
mouth-like opening or slit 15, bifurcating the bill portion edgewise from 
the lower ends 24 and 26 upwardly nearly the full length of the bill 
portion through the right side wall and through the left side wall to form 
a forward, vertical, forward jaw portion 16 and a rear jaw portion 17. The 
width of said mouth slit being so arranged and adapted that forward jaw 
inner wall 32 and rearward jaw inner wall 33 slide over and resiliently 
grip said walls of said partition adjacent said edge with sufficient 
pressure to prevent said jaws from slipping from the partition by 
themselves. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the holder 13 is supported vertically in the handbag 
adjacent inner handbag wall 44. The jaws are supported fixedly in 
cantilevered fashion adjacent inner radiused corner 34 of the mouth or 
slit by walls defining an inclined shoulder 18, having a width about 3/16 
of the body length which shoulder holds said jaws together and imparts a 
spring-like effect thereto. Said slit is nearly closed at the lower end 
and adapted to spring open at least 1/16 to 3/32 inches at the lower ends 
24 and 26 of said jaws. The slit tapers from its lower end width to 
between 1/16 and 3/32 inches wide adjacent said inside corner or 
intersection of said inner walls and said shoulder. 
An elongated, annular, substantially cylindrical necked-down protrusion, 
portion 19, about 1/4 inches in diameter has a free end 35 and a fixed end 
36 connected by the fixed end integrally to said shoulder oppositely to 
said jaws at the juncture 41 of the shoulder and said jaws, and is offset 
forwardly on the shoulder upper wall 20 to define an upwardly inclined 
hook-like support ledge or wall portion 38 for securing a key ring or 
chain 21 or the like between said neck portion and said ledge portion. 
As shown in FIG. 2, to obtain the ledge 38, the forward tangent edge 37 of 
the neck portion is made flush, substantially straight and aligned 
linearly and vertically with wall 22, leaving the greater support portion 
38 of the ledge slanting upwardly from the intersection 41 of face 37 and 
rear wall 42 between the upper tip 23 of the ledge and rearward tangent 
surface 39 of said neck to provide a substantially large rest area with 
respect to the size of the key ring or holder 21. 
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the wider ledge area is formed from the body 
by giving a substantially concave wedge effect to the rearward jaw wall 17 
starting from the comparatively thin section at its free end 26 in a 
forwardly depending arc extending upwardly and rearwardly to tip corner 
23. The distance across the shoulder from intersection 41 to tip 23 is 
about 5/8 inches measured horizontally as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the forward jaw is generally thin-sectioned 
horizontally, vertically flat and of generally constant thickness from its 
free end 24 to immediately adjacent its junction with the shoulder, the 
inner corner, and neck portion. 
Each jaw is about 1/16 inches thick at its lower end. The front jaw is 
about 3/32 inches thick at its upper fixed end, PG,10 The width of each 
jaw is about 1/2 inch adjacent their lower ends. 
The width of the shoulder, as shown in FIG. 5, is about 5/8 inches, which 
extends the shoulder a substantial distance on each side 29 and 43 of the 
neck portion. 
The rearwardly slanted wall of the rear jaw, that is, tapering from a thin 
section at its lower end, to a thicker section at its upper end, to 
provide for resilient action at the bottom end. 
The front jaw is also relatively thin for allowing resilient action along 
its entire length. The thinness of the lower jaw ends also provide for 
entry of the jaws over partitions in small spaces or pockets in the 
handbag. 
The lower ends of the jaws are preferrably rounded off from the inner slit 
walls to the outside jaw walls to facilitate entry of the partition into 
the mouth or slit. 
The ends 24 and 26 of said jaws are preferrably reduced or rounded off to 
blend into the sides 27 and 40 of the bill 14, and taper gradually from 
said ends outwardly to said shoulder extremities 29 and 43. The juncture 
of the neck portion with the ledge portion is preferrably blended in with 
smooth contoured valleys 28. Said shoulder extremities are preferrably 
also rounded. 
The invention is preferrably manufactured from a resilient, tough, plastic 
that will hold its shape and have sufficient resiliency and spring in said 
jaws to firmly grip the sides or said walls of the partition securely. 
It will thus be seen that the objects hereinbefore set forth may be readily 
and efficiently obtained, and since certain changes may be made in the 
above device and different embodiments of the invention could be made 
without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter 
contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings 
shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover 
all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein 
described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a 
matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.