Patent Publication Number: US-2007101479-A1

Title: Glove with cuff mounted holder for cell phone

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/727,890, filed Oct. 17, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a glove or mitten having a pocket positioned on the interior wall of the cuff at the wrist of the wearer for carrying a cell phone or similar device and allowing the device to be quickly and easily removed simultaneously with removal of the glove.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Use of portable cell phones has become nearly universal. Common methods of carrying such phones include dedicated “holsters” or simply placing the phone in the pocket of clothing. However in circumstances such as outdoor use in cold weather where a user is wearing substantially more clothing and hand coverings such as gloves, such methods of carrying a cell phone typically make the phone more difficult to access and may inhibit the ability of the user to recognize an incoming call, commonly signaled by an audible sound or vibration of the device.  
      Because cell phones have become very small, their operation typically requires some manual dexterity. The difficulty of operating a phone while wearing gloves has been recognized and addressed in part by devices such that shown in U.S. patent application 20040064870. While the device disclosed in that application is intended to simplify the operation of a phone while wearing a glove, it does nothing to address the accessibility of a cell phone or improve the users ability to recognize the alert of an incoming call. U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,310 to Gray also discloses a cell phone in the form of a glove. In contrast to the present invention, the Gray device does not provide for use of a glove in conjunction with an ordinary consumer cell phone, instead providing a device having only a permanent glove configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 4,6709,09 to Forrester discloses a glove configuration having an external pocket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,073 to Todd discloses a glove with a pocket located on the outside of the glove cuff, i.e., toward the back of the wearer&#39;s hand, and accessible from the exterior of the glove.  
      The present invention is generally directed to a wrist mounted holder for a cell phone and, in particular, an improved glove or mitten including having a pocket or similar securement means for holding a cell phone on a wearer&#39;s wrist where it is readily accessible. By virtue of the location of the phone within the glove on the inside of the user&#39;s wrist, the user can nearly simultaneously remove the glove and gain access to the phone which is positioned to drop into the users palm or fingers as the glove is removed. Additionally, the signal of an incoming call is more readily heard and/or sensed.  
      By positioning a phone on the interior wall of the glove cuff and adjacent the inside of the wrist the phone is relatively well protected, is adjacent as to a portion of the body which is relatively sensitive to the vibration of an incoming call alert and is does not interfere with hand and wrist movement of the wearer. The phone is also located within the insulation of a glove to preserve battery life under cold conditions.  
      Although the present invention is particularly well suited to gloves used for cold conditions, it is equally well suited to any type of glove including, for example, work gloves or welding gloves.  
      It is also to be understood that while the wrist cuff holder of the present invention is particularly well suited to use with a cell phone, it is equally well suited to carrying any suitably sized item or device so as to provide ready access to such device, especially when a having bare hand may be desirable to use or operate such device. Examples of such items or devices may include electronic devices such as GPS receivers, pagers, portable two way radios, compact cameras, calculators, small flashlights, or common items such as tools, keys, money, or credit cards.  
      Use of such a liner or other similar structure gives the additional possibility of providing an inexpensive accessory to allow any existing glove to be “retrofitted” to achieve the benefits of the invention.  
      Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide the user with quick and easy access, with minimal movement, to a cell phone while engaging in outdoor activities, sports, work, or other activities in which the participant may be wearing gloves or mittens.  
      It is another object of the invention to provide an accessory for holding a standard cell phone on a user&#39;s wrist.  
      It is an object of the invention to allow the user to detect incoming calls when noise levels prevent the user from hearing a ring tone.  
      It is another object of the invention to allow the user to detect incoming calls when clothing, especially winter or protective gear, would inhibit the user&#39;s ability to easily detect a vibration or hear a ring tone from phone carried in a pocket or typical cell phone carrier.  
      It is another object of the invention to facilitate the sensing of the vibration of an incoming call alert in privacy without other persons being annoyed by a ring tone.  
      It is another object of the invention to allow the user to immediately detect the location of his/her cell phone when receiving and incoming call by allowing positioning a vibrating alert against the skin of the wrist attached to the hand that will hold the cell phone during a call.  
      It is another object of the invention to position a cell phone for quick release into a user&#39;s palm and in an orientation that aligns the cell phone so that it slides into the user&#39;s palm already oriented for use.  
      It is another object of the invention to keep the cell phone close to a portion of the user&#39;s body to keeps the phone warm and prolong the battery life under cold conditions. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating the general configuration the preferred embodiment of the present invention, namely, a glove incorporating the cell phone pocket in the wrist cuff.  
       FIG. 2  is a plan side view corresponding to  FIG. 1  and showing a larger plan view of the cuff portion.  
       FIG. 3  is a view corresponding to  FIG. 2  showing the orientation of the phone as it is removed from the pocket.  
       FIG. 4  is a view corresponding to FIG. I showing a thin liner glove having an external pocket mounted on the wrist cuff portion. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention in its preferred form is a glove or mitten as might be typically for cold weather outdoor activities and having a wrist cuff of sufficient length to accommodate a pocket or other means of securement capable of holding and securing a small portable cell telephone.  
      In the preferred embodiment as shown in  FIG. 2 , a typical cold weather glove or mitten  1  is provided with a cuff  2  which generally surrounds and extends past the wrist of the wearer sufficiently far enough to provide a space within the cuff to accommodate a cell phone  5 . A pocket  3  is attached to or incorporated into the inner wall of the cuff. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the pocket is preferably located on the palm side (which is herein also referred to as the “inside”) of the wrist to allow removing the phone from its pocket simultaneously with removing the glove. In such case the phone is already oriented as it is likely to be held by the user. The pocket is sized to snugly fit a typical cell phone and is preferably made of thin and flexible fabric which has the benefit that a vibrating alert of the phone can be readily sensed through the material. In contrast, thicker and stiffer materials such as neoprene or even flexible plastics, such as those used for watchbands, are less suitable for maintaining the sensitivity to a vibrating alert.  
      The mouth  4  of the pocket is preferably oriented toward the opening in the cuff to allow the phone to be easily inserted and removed from the pocket. It will generally be desirable to provide means of closure for the pocket to hold the phone in place. This closure can be any of numerous well known structures including elastic, zippers, hook and loop fasteners (“Velcro”), snaps, a drawstring and may include a flap on the pocket as well. A simple and functional closure can be provided by a drawstring or elastic closure  6  encircling the cuff to serve the dual purpose of simultaneously sealing the glove cuff and the pocket opening.  
      Although a pocket provides a simple and secure structure for removably retaining a phone within a glove, other appropriate structures may also be used to achieve the same benefits as have been described. These include but are not limited to clips with corresponding mating portions on the glove and phone respectively, hook and loop fasteners, “holster” style phone retainers within the glove.  
      While the present invention is most suited to being incorporated as an internal pocket of an heavy or insulated glove, an alternative as shown in  FIG. 3  holds the phone in a pocket  13  mounted on the inside or outside of the interior of wrist cuff  2  of a thin glove  11 . Such a configuration may be suitable for use with a “liner” glove, typically a snug fitting glove of thinner material, used in conjunction with a thicker insulated glove. Such a glove may be thin enough so that it need not be removed in order to operate a cell phone. Use of such a liner or other similar structure gives the additional possibility of providing an inexpensive accessory to allow any existing glove to be “retrofitted” to achieve the benefits of the invention.