Abstract:
A securing strap includes a biased coil with a filament and a strap end. The strap end is mounted inside an electronic device such as a cellular telephone. The biased coils is incorporated into an accessory, such as a holster or an armband. The cellular telephone can be attached to or removed from the accesorry, however, it stays secured by the strap.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    None  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0003]    This invention pertains to a method and apparatus for securing a cellular telephone to a holster or other accessory without interfering with its operation.  
           [0004]    2. Background of the Invention  
           [0005]    Cellular telephones are so common that they have become literally a necessity of life. They are used by people of all ages and all walks of life. Moreover, over the years cellular telephones have become very small so that they are easy to carry in a purse, pocketbook, and so on. In order to keep the cellular telephone readily accessible, often cellular telephones are mounted in holsters and other accessories that can be mounted on a belt, the strap of a pocketbook, armbands, and so on. However, because they have become so readily accessible, cellular telephones are also prone to theft, can be easily dropped and broken, or lost.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    Briefly, the subject application pertains to a method of securing a cellular telephone having two parts to an accessory comprising providing a securing strap having a main portion with a biased coil with a filament and a strap end, incorporating the main portion in the accessory, and forming an interference fit between the two parts to grab said strap end. Preferably, the method further comprises separating said parts, inserting said strap end between said parts and assembling said parts to trap said strap end. The method may further include attaching said strap end to one of said parts and providing an adhesive element for attaching said strap end.  
           [0007]    In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for securing an electronic device having a body and a cover, said body and cover defining a cavity, comprising providing a securing strap having a biased coil with a filament attached to a strap end, coupling the biased coil to an accessory, and mounting said strap end within said cavity. The device may have a battery and the strap end may be secured to said battery by an adhesive and said battery may be mounted within said cavity. The strap end may be coupled to said filament by a coupling. The method may further comprise releasing said device from said accessory by disconnecting said coupling.  
           [0008]    In another aspect of the invention a cellular telephone assembly is disclosed comprising a cellular telephone having two parts, an accessory, a coil incorporated in the accessory and having a filament, and a strap end attached to said filament and being secured by an interference fit between the two parts. Preferably the coil is biased so that when said filament is pulled out of the coil and released, it is automatically retracted. The assembly may further comprise an adhesive member attaching said strap end to one of said parts. The two parts define a battery chamber and said cellular telephone includes a battery in said battery chamber and said strap end is attached to said battery. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 shows the parts of a cellular telephone with a portion of a strap constructed in accordance with this invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 shows the battery of the cellular telephone in its cavity;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2A shows the closed cellular telephone with the strap portion extending therefrom;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 shows the assembled cellular telephone with the strap attached to a holster;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 shows the holster and the cellular telephone spaced apart from each other;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 shows an alternate strap attached to an armband. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 shows a typical cellular telephone  10  having a main body  12  and a cover  14 . A depression  16  is formed in body  14  so that when the cover snaps unto the body  12 , a chamber is formed therebetween. This chamber is used to hold battery  18 .  
         [0016]    According to this invention, a securing strap is provided having two components: an end and a main portion. The strap end  20  is shown in FIG. 1 and it includes one or more threads or strings  22  with string ends  24 . The string ends  24  are secured, at least temporarily by an adhesive tape  26 . In an alternate embodiment, the string ends  24  can be secured to the body  12 , or to the cover by a tape  26 ′. The strings  22  are attached to a coupling member  28 .  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 shows the battery  18  positioned within the depression  16 . The string ends  24  and the tape  26  trapped between the battery  18  and the body  12 . As shown in FIG. 2A, the cover is snapped over the body  12  with the strap end  20  extending outwardly. The cover  14  fits snugly over the body  12  but its sufficiently flexible to accommodate the strings  24 . In this manner, a friction or interference fit is formed between the body  12  and cover  14  which engages and holds the strings  24  tightly. An interference fit is also formed between the battery and the body thereby further holding or grabbing the strap end.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIGS. 3 and 4 show the cellular telephone  10  attached to a holster  40 . The holster  40  is formed with a pocket  42 . Within the pocket  42  there is a biased coil  44 . The filament  32  of the coil  44  can be pulled out of pocket and when it is released, it is drawn back into the pocket  42  by a spring or rubber band (not shown). Mechanisms of this type are well known in the art.  
         [0019]    The filament  32  is attached to another coupling member  30 . The coupling member  30  mates with the coupling member  28  but these two members can be manually disengaged from each other when desired. Thus the main portion of the securing strap consists of coil  44  with its filament  32  terminating with coupling member  30 .  
         [0020]    In summary, the present invention provides a securing strap  50  coupling cellular telephone  10  to an accessory such as holster  40 . The securing strap includes a main portion  48  and a strap end  20 .  
         [0021]    Normally, the cellular telephone  10  is stored in the holster  40 . When a customer wants to use the cellular telephone  10 , he removes it as shown in FIG. 3 and then pulls it away as shown in FIG. 4 with the filament  32  extending cellular telephone  10  and the holster  40 . When the user completes his conversation, he replaces the cellular telephone  10  into the holster  40  and the filament is automatically retracted into the pocket  42 . The cellular telephone  10  can be readily separated from the holster  40  by decoupling members  28  and  30 .  
         [0022]    In FIGS. 1, 2,  2 A,  3  and  4  coupling member  30  is a plastic male member that snaps into plastic female member  28  as shown. Other types of coupling members may be used to achieve the same result. Alternatively the coupling members may be omitted and the strap end can be integral with the filament.  
         [0023]    In the previously described embodiment, the holster  40  is made of leather, plastic or other material and is adapted to be mounted on a belt, or other similar elements. FIG. 5 shows a securing strap  50 ′ used to attach a cellular telephone to an arm band  60 . In this Figure, the arm band  60  is provided with a small fabric holster  40 ′ having a pocket  42 ′ holding a coil (not shown). Filament  32  extends out of the pocket  42 ′ and terminates with a closed hook  30  that can be selectively opened. The strap end  20  terminates in a loop  28 ′ inserted into the hook  30 ′.  
         [0024]    The holster  40  is formed with two flat members  41 ,  43 . At one end of holster the two members are separated slightly thereby forming a space for the pocket  42 , as seen in FIG. 3.  
         [0025]    The securing strap  50  can be used to secure a cellular telephone or other similar device having a removable portion that can form with interference fit to grab the strings  22 .  
         [0026]    While the preferred preferred method of securing the string end  20  to the cellular telephone is through the interference fit, another means may be used as well. For example, the string end  20  may be attached to the body  12  by a button having a layer of adhesive, as indicated in FIG. 4 by numeral  26 ′.  
         [0027]    While the invention has been described with reference to several particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Accordingly, the embodiments described in particular should be considered as exemplary, not limiting, with respect to the following claims.