Patent Publication Number: US-2023146616-A1

Title: Tool sheath

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 63/263,734 Nov. 8, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to a sheath for stowing a tool, and more particularly to a sheath for stowing a pair of pliers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Some tool sheaths allow a tool to move around when stowed. Improvements are needed. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a pliers sheath for holding a pliers has a head and at least two handles connected to the head at a joint. The pliers sheath comprises a mounting portion for mounting the sheath onto a support structure. The pliers sheath includes a pliers holder comprising flexible material. The pliers holder includes a holder body defining a receiving space for receiving the head of the pliers. The pliers holder includes a keeper arranged to engage the pliers to retain the pliers in the sheath. The flexible material is configured to permit the keeper to resiliently deflect away from an at rest position in response to insertion of the head of the pliers into the receiving space. The flexible material is configured to resiliently return the keeper toward the at rest position. 
     Other objects and features of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front perspective of a pliers held by a pliers sheath; 
         FIG.  2    is a rear perspective of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective of the pliers usable with the pliers sheath; 
         FIG.  4    is a front perspective of the pliers sheath; 
         FIG.  5    is a rear perspective of a cross section of  FIG.  4   ; 
         FIG.  6    is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of pliers engagement structure; 
         FIG.  7    is a cross section of the pliers stowed in the pliers sheath; 
         FIG.  8    is a front elevation of the sheath; 
         FIG.  9    is a fragmentary perspective of a first stage of the pliers entering the sheath; 
         FIG.  10    is a fragmentary perspective of a second stage of the pliers entering the sheath; 
         FIG.  11    is an enlarged fragmentary exploded rear perspective of mounting structure of the sheath; 
         FIG.  12    is a front perspective of a clip of the sheath; 
         FIG.  13    is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the mounting structure of the sheath. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference numbers indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a sheath  10  of the present disclosure is usable for stowing a pair of pliers  12  (broadly, “multi-handle tool having jaws”). In the illustrated embodiment, the tool is a “needle-nose” type pliers configured to assist a fisherperson/user in removing a hook from a mouth of a fish. It will be appreciated the sheath  10  could be used for stowing a pair of scissors or other two-handled tool having jaws without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, aspects of the sheath could be used in other types of sheaths (e.g. knives, etc.) without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Illustrated in  FIG.  3   , the pliers  12  includes two pliers arms  12 A,  12 B pivotably joined at a pivot point, referred to herein as a joint  12 C. Each of the pliers arms  12 A,  12 B includes a handle portion  14 A,  14 B and a jaws portion  16 . The handle portions  14 A,  14 B may be provided with a gripping portion to assist the user in grasping the pliers  12 . The handle portions  14 A,  14 B are configured to receive fingers and a thumb/palm of a user’s hand, allowing the user to move the arms between an open (not shown) and closed position to actuate the jaw portions. In the illustrated embodiment, each handle portion includes a head having a pusher member  18 A  and a recess  18 B, (together broadly considered “sheath engagement structure”). Each recess  18 B is defined by a finger/thumb bed  18 C configured to receive a finger and/or thumb of the user while the user grasps the pliers. In the illustrated embodiment, the handle portions  14 A,  14 B are overmolded with a polymeric material (e.g. Kraton material) gripping portion configured to assist the user in gripping the pliers. The gripping portions can provide friction to the user grasping the pliers and when the pliers is stowed in the sheath, as will be described in greater detail below. In the illustrated embodiment, the Kraton material of each handle portion provides the head and recess of each handle portion. 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , the sheath  10  includes a body forming a mount  20  and a holder  22 . The body is formed of a resiliently deformable material. In the illustrated embodiment, the resiliently deformable material is a polymeric material (e.g. injection molded plastic). 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  4   , the holder  22  defines a receiver  24  having a tool-receiving recess  26  (broadly, “recess”) in which the jaws  16  of the pliers  12  are receivable for stowing the pliers  12  in the sheath  10 . The holder  22  includes a front (first) panel  22 A and a rear (second) panel  22 B bounding the recess  26 . Left (third) and right (fourth) panels  22 C,  22 D respectively, extend between the front and rear panels. The recess  26  includes a lower portion configured to receive the jaws  16  of the pliers  12 . The lower portion tapers and has a narrower width than an upper portion of the recess. The upper portion is configured to receive segments of the handle portions of the pliers, as will be described in greater detail below. 
     The holder  22  includes at least one keeper (broadly, “pliers engagement structure”) configured to releasably retain the pliers  12  in the holder  22 . In the illustrated embodiment, there are three keepers. Referring to  FIGS.  4  and  5   , a first keeper  30  comprises a detent  30 A (broadly, “protrusion”) extending rearward toward the rear panel  22 B from an upper end portion of the front panel  22 A. The detent  30 A includes a camming surface  30 B angled generally toward the bottom of the recess. The first keeper  30  is configured such that a dimension of the recess  18 B between a distal end of the keeper  30  and a forward facing surface of the rear panel  22 B is less than the thickness of the joint. Other configurations can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG.  6   , the holder  22  includes a second keeper  36  and a third keeper  46  (broadly, “pliers engagement structure”) configured to releasably retain the pliers  12  in the holder  22 . The second and third keepers  36 ,  46  are provided at upper end portions of the left and right panels  22 C,  22 D and protrude inward toward the recess  26  to obstruct removal of the pliers  12  from the holder  22 . The first and second keepers  36 ,  46  are arranged to engage the handle engagement structure of respective handle portions of the pliers to obstruct removal of the pliers. 
     The second keeper  36  will be described in greater detail with the understanding that the third keeper  46  includes identical mirroring features with like reference numbers plus  10 . The second keeper  36  includes a proximal portion, a distal portion, and a keeper body extending therebetween. The proximal portion is connected (e.g. integrally formed) to the sheath body. The second keeper  36  comprises a first ramp portion  36 A, a wing portion  36 B, and a second ramp portion  36 C. The first ramp portion  36 A includes a first tapered surface  36 D facing generally away from the recess  26 . The wing portion  36 B includes a thumb  38  having a camming surface  38 A facing in a generally transverse direction with respect to the recess  26 . The second ramp portion  36 C includes a second tapered surface  36 E facing generally toward the receiver  26 . The tapered surfaces  36 D,  36 E of the first and second ramp portions  36 A,  36 C and the camming surface  38 A of the thumb  38  are integrally formed and can all generally be referred to as handle portion engagement structure. 
     The dimension between the first tapered surfaces  36 D,  46 D of the respective first ramp portions  36 A,  46 A of the first and second keepers  36 ,  46  is slightly wider than the dimension between the camming surfaces  38 A,  48 A of the respective thumbs  38 ,  48  of the first and second keepers  36 ,  46 . The dimension between the second tapered surfaces  36 E,  46 E of the respective second ramp portions  36 C,  46 C of the second and third keepers  36 ,  46  is slightly wider than that of the first tapered surfaces  36 D,  46 D to form gaps in that region when the pliers is stowed in the sheath. The first and second keepers may be omitted without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
     A cycle of use of inserting and removing the pliers  12  to and from the sheath  10  will now be discussed with respect to  FIGS.  1 ,  7 ,  9 , and  10   . Referring to  FIG.  9   , in a first stage, the user inserts the pliers  12  into the sheath  10  so the heads of the respective handle portions engage the respective second and third keepers  36 , 46 . The user provides a sufficient pushing force to allow pusher members  18 A of the respective handle portions  14 A,  14 B engage respective first tapered surfaces  36 D,  46 D, causing the respective second and third keepers  36 ,  46  to resiliently deflect laterally outward to a Position 1. In Position 1, the joint  12 C of the pliers  12  is located above the first keeper  30 . A highest compression force is resulted on the handles at Position 1, caused by the resilient deformity of the second and third keepers  36 , 46  pushing back on the heads of the handle portions. 
     Referring to  FIG.  10   , in a second stage, the user continues to push the pliers  12  into the sheath  10 , causing the heads of the respective handle portions  14 A,  14 B to begin to pass the first tapered surfaces  36 D,  46 D. As the heads begin to pass the first tapered surfaces, the recesses  18 B of the handle portions begin to engage the camming surfaces  38 A,  48 A of the thumbs  38 ,  48  of the wing portions  36 B,  46 B of the respective second and third keepers  36 ,  46  to a Position 2. In Position 2, the joint  12 C of the pliers  12  is still located above the first keeper  30 . Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  7   , in a third stage, the user continues to push the pliers  12  into the sheath  10 , causing the heads of the respective handle portions to begin to move into the gaps defined by the respective second ramp portions  36 C,  46 C of the second and third keepers  36 ,  46 . Substantially simultaneously, the joint  12 C of the pliers  12  begins (or already has begun) to engage the detent  30 A of the first keeper  30 . The sufficient force provided by the user pushing the pliers  12  into the sheath  10  causes the first keeper  30  to resiliently deflect outward. The surface of the joint  12 C slides over the detent  30 A until the pliers is inserted into the sheath  10  a sufficient amount, at which point the detent  30 A passes the joint  12 C causing the first keeper  30  to deflect back (i.e. snap) into its at rest position (or at least toward or near its at rest position) in a space above the joint  12 C and between the handle portions. 
     Substantially simultaneously, as the joint  12 C is sliding over the detent  30 A, the heads of the respective handle portions  14 A,  14 B begin entering (or have already entered) into the gaps provided by the second ramp portions  36 C,  46 C. Once the first keeper  30  is back into its at rest position, now located above the joint  12 C, and the thumbs  38 ,  38  of the second and third keepers  36 ,  46  are seated in the recesses  18 B of the respective handle portions  14 A,  14 B, the pliers  12  is in the stowed position. The gripping portion of the handle portions provide a friction fit when engaged with the camming surfaces to further secure the pliers in place. The camming surface  30 B of the detent is arranged above the top of the joint  12 C such that a gap may be provided between the top of the joint  12 C and the first retainer  30  when the pliers is in the stowed position. The holder  22  may be configured so that the camming surface  30 B engages the top of the joint  12 C when the pliers  12  is in the stowed positon without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
     A similar but reverse sequence takes place when the user supplies a sufficient pulling force for removing (e.g. by pulling) the pliers from the sheath. It will be appreciated that the keepers are configured to permit camming of the keepers away from their respective at rest (retaining) positions to facilitate removal of the pliers from the receiving space by pulling force applied to the handles of the pliers. Accordingly, removal of the pliers from the sheath can be a one-handed operation. 
     The mount  20  comprises mount connection structure configured for mounting the sheath to a support structure such as, a belt, clothes of the user (e.g. a pocket), a suitable location of a boat (e.g. interior paneling on a fishing boat), etc. 
     The mount  20  includes an upper portion of the sheath body, and includes a clip  50 . The upper portion of the body defines two slots  52 A,  52 B (broadly, “openings”) through which a belt can be threaded to connect the sheath  10  to the belt. The mount  20  also comprises connection structure configured to removably connect the clip  50  to the mount  20 . In the illustrated embodiment, the mount  20  defines a through hole  20 A configured to receive a Chicago style screw  54  (broadly, “fastener”) and nut  54 A. The mount  20  defines openings  20 C,  20 D arranged to correspond with and configured to receive barbs  56 A,  56 B (broadly, “locks”) of the clip  50 . The mount  20  defines anti-rotation structure configured to prevent the clip from rotating when secured to the mount, as will become apparent. The anti-rotation structure includes a recess  20 E defined by a top portion of the mount  20  and two slits  20 F,  20 G defined by the upper portion of the mount  20 . The recess  20 E is bounded by protrusions on each side of the recess  20 E. In the illustrated embodiment, the slits  20 F,  20 G do not pass through the mount body. Additionally, the mount  20  defines two (broadly, “at least one”) additional through holes  20 H,  20 I configured to receive a standard fastener (e.g. a screw). 
     The clip  50  comprises a clip body, an upper portion of the clip includes mounting structure, and a lower portion of the clip includes locking structure. The mounting structure includes a through hole  50 A arranged to correspond with the through hole  20 A of the mount  20  and configured to receive the Chicago style fastener  54 . The upper portion includes tabs  58 A,  58 B,  58 C arranged to engage with the anti-rotation structure. The locking structure includes two barbs  56 A,  56 B sized shaped and arranged to correspond with the openings  20 C,  20 D. A latch  60  is arranged below the barbs  56 A,  56 B to provide a surface for which the user can pull the clip backwards, as will become apparent. 
     When the clip  50  is fastened to the mount  20 , the tab  58 A is seating in the recess  20 E and the tabs  50 B,  50 C are inserted into the corresponding slits  20 F,  20 G. Moreover, the barbs  56 A,  56 B are seated in the corresponding openings  20 C,  20 D. The configuration is such that the depths of the slits  20 F,  20 G and the lengths of the tabs  50 B,  50 C, together with the depths of the openings  20 C,  20 D and the length of the barbs  56 A,  56 B permit the clip to reside generally parallel fashion with the mount body when the clip is in an at rest position. The arrangement is such that a space  64  is provided by an interior of the clip body and an exterior of the mount body. 
     The user may thread a belt through at least one, preferably both, openings  52 A,  52 B defined by the mount body. Moreover, the user may thread a belt through the space  64  provided by the clip and the mount body. Alternatively, the user may pull the latch  60  backward away from the mount body to slide the clip  50  over a belt in which the clip will resiliently deflect back to its at rest position with the belt trapped in the space  64 . Alternatively, the user may pull the latch  60  backward and slide the clip  50  into a pant or shirt pocket (broadly, “clothing material”). Once the user releases the latch  60 , the clip  50  will tend to return to its at rest position however the barbs  56 A,  56 B will trap the clothing material into the openings  20 C,  20 D. 
     The user may mount the sheath to a more semi-permanent fixture (e.g. suitable paneling in a fishing boat, work bench, etc.), if desired. The user first removes the clip  50  from the mount  20  by removing the Chicago style fastener  54 . Once the clip has been removed, the user can pass screws through the openings  20 H,  20 I, and/or the opening  20 A where the Chicago style fastener previously occupied, to thread the screws to the chosen fixture. 
     It will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. The dimensions and proportions described herein are by way of example without limitation. Other dimensions and proportions can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.