Flashlight and flashlight holder
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to holders for flashlights in general and more in particular to a flashlight holder which keeps the flashlight with the holder unless the two are brought into a predetermined orientation. 
     Flashlight holders enable the easy carriage of a flashlight by a person. The holders may be adapted to carry the flashlight on a belt. 
     A flashlight holder should be inexpensive, unencumbering and easy to fix to a person. The holder should allow use of the flashlight without removal from the holder and easy flashlight removal from the holder when occasion demands. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a flashlight holder having a ring of an internal diameter greater than the body of a flashlight but less than a head of a flashlight. The ring has a bridge or arch which defines a step in the ring&#39;s circumference for passage over a housing for an on-off switch on the body. Unless the bridge longitudinally registers with the housing the flashlight interferes with the ring in either direction along the flashlight&#39;s longitudinal axis. A carrying strap attaches to the bridge section and preferably has a loop and a snap to close the loop. The loop provides attachment to a person&#39;s belt and the snap provides a means for attachment to a belt without removing the belt. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, appended claims and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view of a flashlight holder and flashlight of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flashlight holder shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the flashlight holder and flashlight in use. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a flashlight holder 10 includes a ring 12. A bridge or arch section 14 of the ring defines a step of an arched internal diameter for the ring. The internal diameter of the ring is greater than the diameter of a body 16 of a flashlight 18, but less than the diameter of a head 20 of the flashlight. A housing and guard 22 for an on-off switch mounts on body 16 of the flashlight. 
     Bridge section 14 has a span for clearing housing and guard 22. Specifically, the bridge section has a bight 24 connected to the balance of the ring by a pair of spaced apart legs 26 and 28. The distance between legs 26 and 28 exceeds the width of housing and guard 22. A carrying strap 30 attaches to ring 12 at bridge 14. The distance from the strap on the inside of the bight diametrically to the inside of the ring is greater than the diameter of the flashlight body plus the height of housing and guard. 
     The clearance afforded by the spacing of legs 26 and 28 and the bight and strap both with respect to the housing and guard enables a flashlight to be slipped free of the holder by lifting the light through the holder when the housing and guard registers with the bridge or arch. 
     The diameter of the ring outside of the bridge or arch is less than the diameter of the flashlight body plus the height of the housing and guard so that the flashlight cannot be pulled through the ring unless the ring and housing and guard are in register. 
     The strap, as previously mentioned, attaches to the ring by looping under bight 24 of bridge or arch section 14. It is fastened onto itself as by a rivet 34 which also provides a conventional female socket 36 for a male portion 38 of a snap. The strap has a loop 40 for attachment to a belt of a person. 
     With brief reference to FIG. 3, the flashlight carried by a person is illustrated. Flashlight 18 is carried by a holder 10 from a belt 42 of the user. Ring 12 holds the flashlight by interfering with head 20 thereof. Removal of the light requires registration of on-off switch housing and guard 22 with bridge or arch section 14 and drawing the flashlight through ring 12. The flashlight is replaced by reversing the procedure. The attachment of strap 30 to the ring is loose and thus the flashlight can be twisted and used without taking the flashlight out of the holder. The strap and snap allow the holder to be attached to a person&#39;s belt without removing the belt. The flashlight is flush against the side of a person and provides a minimum of obstruction. The flush repose of the light against the side of a person results from the use of the bridge section as the attachment section for the strap. Thus the bridge section serves the functions of strap retention and as a key to free the flashlight from the holder. Rivet 34 also nests in flutes 44 of head 20 of the flashlight. 
     The present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. The spirit and scope of the appended claims should not, however, necessarily be limited to this description.