Elongate, double-hinged carrying case

Claim 1

A carrying case comprising: an elongate bottom covering having relatively rigid, upwardly extending walls including a first rear wall; an elongate top cover having relatively rigid, downwardly extending walls including a second rear wall; said first rear wall terminating along its upper edge in a first cylindrical bearing socket having an upwardly facing slotted opening running from end to end therethrough; said second rear wall terminating along its lower edge in a second cylindrical bearing socket spaced vertically from said first cylindrical bearing socket and having a downwardly faced slotted opening running from end to end therethrough; a hinge member having a pair of spaced parallel cylindrical bearing sections joined by a flat, relatively thin web section, said hinge member being hard and stiff enough to insure substantial inflexibility of said web section in the transverse direction; one of said bearing sections being pivotally mounted in said first bearing socket and the other of said bearing sections being pivotally mounted in said second bearing socket so that said web section extends through the slotted openings of both bearing sockets whereby to form pivot joints and pivotally support the top and bottom covers for double-jointed swinging movement of either cover between closed and open positions relative to the other; the first and second bearing sockets being of jaw-like configuration in cross-section and extending for more than 180 degrees around the cylindrical wall of each of said bearing sections to thereby maintain said hinge member in position between said first rear wall and said second rear wall to pivotally support said top and bottom covers for said double-jointed swinging movement thereof; the top and bottom covers, first and second bearing sockets and hinge member being all of substantially the same length; and said hinge member serving, in addition to its hinge function, a shock absorbing function between the rear walls of said top and bottom covers when said carrying case is subjected to undue compressive stress while at the same time cooperating with the bearing sockets in said rear walls to tighten the pivot joints therebetween against separation under such stress.