PROTECTIVE CASE

Abstract

 Protective case of the type formed by a tubular body (1) of knitted circular fabric (2) with an elastic section (3) suitably dimensioned for matching a entry mouth (4) and a fine seam (5) that closes in a permanent fashion the opposed end (10) of the tubular body (1), and provided with an inner protective lining (6), said protective case being provided with an inner case (7) made of knitted fabric of one or several yarns that can be made of material different from the yarn of the outer fabric (2), said inner fabric (7) being joined to the outer fabric (2) at its lower portion by at least one seam, the so obtained double case having two elastic portions (8) and (9), one located at the entry mouth (4) and the other located at the lower section (10) that are obtained through weaving of elastic yarn between the fabric meshes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The object of the present invention is a protective case for objects of the type formed by a tubular body of knitted circular fabric and having the peculiarity that it incorporates in its interior another case of one or more yarns that can be made from a material different from that of the outer fabric.

PRIOR ART

[0002] Utility model ES1053702, to one of the inventors of the present invention, discloses a protective case formed by a tubular body of knitted circular fabric with an elastic section suitably dimensioned for matching an entry mouth defined at one of the ends of said tubular body and a fine seam that closes in a permanent fashion the opposed end of the tubular body.

[0003] The above-described invention already contemplated an inner protective cushioning lining of the humidityproof, nonskid type or any combination of both.

[0004] The use of said protective case for delicate objects has rapidly spread due to its being made of a user-friendly knitted material which protects objects that heretofore received either deficient or very comfortless protection because it was offered by rigid elements that took up space even when they were not accommodating the object intended to be protected.

[0005] Other additional factors that have contributed to the spreading of these tubular-bodied protective cases made from knitted fabric have been, on the one hand, their low cost resulting from the simplicity of their design; and on the other hand, the effortlessness to customize the cases by means of different colours and textures or even the possibility of incorporating advertising and commercial motifs, decorative designs, etc, which make these cases very appealing for advertising campaigns.

[0006] In spite of the success of the above-described invention, it has become evident, thanks to experience accumulated over the last years, that this case is still susceptible of improvement and that therefore a protective case which better fulfills its purpose and has a larger number of uses can be obtained.

[0007] For instance, despite the fact that the aforesaid invention contemplates an inner protective lining for protection of particularly delicate elements, said lining has proved to be insufficient whenever said objects require exclusive and specific protection due to their physical features. Circular fabric cases thus lack the appropriate qualities for housing said objects and their inner protective lining becomes insufficient for assuring the users that such objects will safely remain in their interior.

[0008] Apart from the above-described problem regarding the insufficient protection for the product contained in the case, it is to be noted that a greater scope of protection is now intended to be provided to these protective cases, such as, protection against unintended erasing of credit card magnetic stripes by means of an antimagnetic element, or protection against humidity or liquid impregnation thanks to waterproof protection, thermal protection or other specific qualities, etc.

[0009] That is why one of the main objects of the present invention is to provide a protective case that allows the definition of an independent means for protection characterized by physical features different from those of the circular fabric forming the outer case.

[0010] Other improvements incorporated in the present invention are related to the closures of the ends of the knitted tubular body forming the case, which improvements permit the inclusion of a simple elastic band disposed at the entry mouth and a more functional and aesthetic finish of the case heel than that of the prior art as well as its adaptation into the new structure of the current improved case that incorporates another protective inner case.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention discloses a protective case of the type formed by a tubular body made from knitted circular fabric, being plain stitching preferred, said case both having a entry mouth with an elastic section and having at one end thereof a fine seam that closes the case heel, and said case also incorporating an additional inner case made from knitted fabric as well.

[0012] Said inner case can made from one or several yarns different from those of the fabric of the outer part, this permitting that the physical features of said inner fabric can be the most suitable for the nature of the product or the protection that is intended to be offered, while keeping at the same time the advantageous features of the outer appearance of the case.

[0013] The fact that the material of the inner case is knitted fabric means that the case so obtained can retain its original properties thereby rendering it so useful and versatile particularly for being carried, since it barely takes up space when void of elements intended to be protected in its interior.

[0014] The new protective case is provided with an elastic portion both at the inner and outer parts of its mouth, which permits a light closure of the entry mouth thereby preventing unintended exit of the product protected by the case.

[0015] The lower region of the case also contains an elastic portion that lightly closes the tube by creating a formative seam of the case located at the lower part thereof, this avoiding that said seam protrudes beyond the width of the fabric, which improves in turn the appearance and finish of the case.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to facilitate comprehension of the invention, the present specification is accompanied by a set of merely illustrative and non-limiting drawings of said invention.

[0017] Figure 1 shows a front view of the protective case of the invention showing the finish of the lower region, which region is provided with an elastic section.

[0018] Figure 2 illustrates a cross-section of the preceding figure.

[0019] Figure 3 shows an enlarged detail of the section of figure 2, which illustrates the formative structure of the different layers forming the protective case of the invention.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The present invention consists of a protective case (1) of the type formed by a tubular body (2) made of knitted circular fabric provided with an elastic section (3) suitably dimensioned for matching a entry mouth (4) and a fine seam (5) that closes in a permanent fashion the opposed end of the tubular body, said protective case (3) also having an inner protective lining (6) including the novelty that it is formed by a double case, an outer case (2) and an inner case (7) that is made from another knitted fabric comprising one or several yarns and made, if so wished, of a material other than that of the yarn of the outer fabric (2).

[0021] Thanks to the fact that the inner fabric (7) is different from the outer fabric (2), the physical characteristics of both fabrics can differ and hence a protective case with special qualities can be obtained without altering the finish or overall appearance of the whole (1). This inner fabric (7) can be made of one or several yarns having special technical characteristics, such as, their being antistatic, breathable, absorbent, thermal, antimagnetic, waterproof, etc.

[0022] That way it is possible to protect products such as magnetic stripe credit cards against both wear and erasing caused by any of the many electromagnetic fields existing in our surrounding environment that are brought about by a plurality of devices. It is also possible to make an inner case (7) with waterproof yarn in order that the object contained inside the case (1) be protected against humidity, etc. The special uses that the case of the invention can have are only limited by the nature of the materials that form the inner case and by the needs that gradually spring up.

[0023] The inner fabric (7) of the case (1) has the special feature of having been made by the same machine and straight after the outer fabric (2) has been made. A change of the yarn guide permits the operation. The inner fabric (7) is joined to the outer fabric (2) at its lower portion by a seam that is also obtained by the knitting machine itself thorough a transfer mechanism of its own. At its upper portion the inner fabric (7) is joined because it is the continuation of the outer fabric (2).

[0024] The case (1) of the present invention is provided with an elastic section located at the lower end and another one at the upper end. These elastic sections are obtained by means of the same machine that manufactures the fabric through the use of a mesh or weft construction. The elastic yarn is woven within the fabric and is a structural part of same. The purpose of the upper elastic section is to slightly close the entry mouth (1) so as to avoid unintentional exiting of the object to be protected.

[0025] The elastic section of the entry mouth closes the fabric tube in such a way that when the lower section is sewn the seam does not stick out from the fabric, which would impoverish the aesthetic finish of the case (1).

[0026] It is to be noted that the invention contemplates for any of its embodiments an air layer (8) between the outer case (2) and the inner case (7). Said air layer increases the protection efficiency of the protective case (1) since it acts as a dampening element and reinforces some of the special features of the case.

[0027] The invention also contemplates in its different embodiments placing a layer of special material (9) between the inner case (7) and the outer (8) case, it being possible that said layer be sewn in places to one or both cases, the inner one (7) and the outer one (8) . Such layer can be for instance a sheet made of foam material, rubber, or fine metallic mesh, so that any of said types of cover lends to the protective case (1) its own inherent physical qualities, this giving the invention more robustness.

[0028] In different modalities of the invention and in any of its embodiments the invention contemplates placing a (1) drawstring at the entry mouth (4) of the case (1). The invention also contemplates the use of an element that can have the above use or is utilized as a mere hanging means for the case (1), by hanging, for instance, from the user's neck.

[0029] It is understood that in the present case any construction, finish of form details that do not alter or modify the essence of the invention can be varied.

Claims

1. PROTECTIVE CASE of the type formed by a tubular body (1) of knitted circular fabric (2) with an elastic section (3) suitably dimensioned for matching a entry mouth (4) and a fine seam (5) that closes in a permanent fashion the opposed end (10) of the tubular body (1), and provided with an inner protective lining (6), CHARACTERIZED in that it has an inner case (7) made of knitted fabric of one or several yarns that can be made of material different from the yarn of the outer fabric (2), said inner fabric (7) being joined to the outer fabric (2) at its lower portion by at least one seam, the so obtained double case having two elastic portions (8) and (9), one located at the entry mouth (4) and the other located at the lower section (10) that are obtained through weaving of elastic yarn between the fabric meshes.

2. PROTECTIVE CASE, according to the previous claim, CHARACTERIZED in that there is an air layer (8) between the inner case (7) and the outer case (2).

3. PROTECTIVE CASE, according to the claim 1,
CHARACTERIZED in that there is a layer of special material (9) between the inner case (7) and the outer case (2), such as rubber, foam, fine metallic mesh or any other suitable material having the physical property that is wished to be reinforced in the case (1); said special layer (9) being, if so wished, sewn in a plurality of places to either of the cases, the inner one (7) or the outer one (2), or to both simultaneously.

4. PROTECTIVE CASE, according to claims 1 to 3, CHARACTERIZED in that at least one the yarns forming the inner case (7) has protective properties that are imparted to the content of the case (1), such us its being humidityproof, waterproof, antimagnetic, nonskid, isothermal or any other properties that help fulfill its purpose, or a combination of them.

5. PROTECTIVE CASE, according to claim 1 to 4, CHARACTERIZED in that said protective case (1) is provided with a drawstring for its entry mouth (4).

6. PROTECTIVE CASE, according to claims 1 to 5, CHARACTERIZED in that said protective case (1) is provided with hanging means.

Drawing