The present invention is generally directed to a holder that engages with the slot between the windowpane and the door window frame of a side door of a motor vehicle. The holder is configured to hold a handheld device, such as a cellular telephone or mobile telephone or other accessory, in position accessible to the driver without blocking line of sight to the front windshield or dashboard of the vehicle.
Handheld devices, such as cellular telephones, feature various applications or “apps” that are useful to a motor vehicle driver. Besides ability to engage in telephonic conversations and texting, cellular telephones include apps that provide navigation assistance, weather forecasts, and traffic conditions, among other things.
Many states have enacted laws prohibiting use of handheld devices while operating a motor vehicle. Motor vehicle drivers who use handheld devices while driving should not hold those devices by hand. Doing so increases risk of collision with other vehicles, pedestrians, structures or objects. Not only does the driver take a hand off of the driving wheel, the driver is more likely to take his or her eyes from the road.
To address drivers' desire to have access to handheld devices while operating their vehicles, various accessories are proposed to enable hands-free operation. For example, holders for handheld devices have been proposed. In some instances, holders for cell phones or other handheld devices fit within one of the cup holding compartments provided in the vehicle. In some instances, holders engage with an air vent or other structure on the dashboard of the vehicle. In still other instances, holders engage to the front windshield or to the rearview mirror of the vehicle. These existing holders for handheld devices have downsides. They can limit the driver's access to cup holders for beverages, and they cause the driver to take his or her eyes from the road to look downward toward the handheld device in such cupholder. They can occlude the driver's vision to the road by blocking a portion of the windshield or rearview mirror. They can occlude the driver's access to features on the vehicle's dashboard.
In most instances the driver wishes to benefit from the apps provided with a handheld device while he or she is actively driving the motor vehicle. Thus, there is great need to position a holder for that device in a location that will not occlude the driver's vision to the road and will not block the driver's access to the vehicle's dashboard. There is great need moreover to position a holder for the device in a location that is more convenient to the driver and more easily viewed by the driver while the motor vehicle is on the road.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,938 proposes positioning a holder for a mobile telephone at a location that is adjacent to the driver's door and between the driver's door window and the steering wheel. The '938 patent shows a holder with an angled plate that has a limb adapted to fit in the slot between the windowpane of the driver's side door and the door trim. A U-shaped bracket is connected to the angled plate and a holder tray is in turn connected to the U-shaped bracket. The holder tray is held at one height in respect of the angled plate, and angular orientation of the holder tray can be adjusted. The limb of the angled plate merely frictionally engages in the slot, without means for ensuring stable connection therein. Moreover, the holder does not adapt for use with different vehicles. Accordingly, improvements for holding and supporting a handheld device within the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle continue to be sought.
An object of this invention is to provide a door mounted holder for a handheld device, such as a cell phone, that removably and securely connects to the motor vehicle door in a location accessible to the driver. Optionally, a door mounted holder for a handheld device has length adjustment for the clip arm so that the holder is adaptable for securement to the doors of different types of motor vehicles.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a door mount holder for a handheld device attaches to a door of a motor vehicle. The door mount holder includes a mount clip that has a center portion, a first arm depending downwardly from the center portion and a second arm depending downwardly from the center portion. The first arm has a substantially straight length and terminates with a hook or bent edge at its distal end. The second arm either has a substantially curved length or, if straight, is disposed at an obtuse angle to center portion. The mount clip may be substantially C-shaped or substantially L-shaped. The first arm is configured to insertedly fit into a window slot of the motor vehicle door between a windowpane and a door panel of the window. When so inserted, the hook or bent edge engages with a portion of a gasket that is associated with the window slot. This engagement helps to secure the door mount holder to the vehicle door, keeping the first arm within the window slot. The center portion and the second arm of the door mount holder rest over the top edge of the window slot and over a portion of the trim of the vehicle door.
A mount fixture is secured either to the top surface of the center portion or to the top surface of the second arm. Alternatively, the mount fixture may be integrally formed in the top surface of the center portion or top surface of the second arm. The mount fixture is configured to engage with the handheld device. If not integrally formed, the mount fixture may be secured by suction or by hook and loop fasteners or by adhesive. The mount fixture may include a gooseneck, and may have a cradle or tray supported at one end of the gooseneck. The cradle or tray is configured to receive the handheld device. The cradle or tray may have a size-adjustable frame to grip edges of the handheld device and secure the handheld device therein.
In an alternative embodiment, a door mount holder for a handheld device may include a first arm that is length-adjusting. The door mount holder of this alternative embodiment has a mount clip with a center portion. The first arm depends downwardly from the center portion, and the first arm includes a slidingly engaged arm extension that has a substantially straight length and terminates with a hook or bent edge at its distal end. A second arm depends downwardly from the center portion and either has a substantially curved length or, if straight, is disposed at an obtuse angle to the center portion. The first arm together with the arm extension are configured to insertedly fit into a window slot of a motor vehicle door between a windowpane and a door panel of the window. The hook or bent edge of the arm extension is configured to engage with a portion of a gasket associated with the window slot. This engagement helps to secure the door mount holder to the vehicle door, keeping the first arm within the window slot. The center portion and the second arm of the door mount holder rest over the top edge of the window slot and over a portion of the trim of the vehicle door.
A mount fixture is secured either to the top surface of the center portion or to the top surface of the second arm. Alternatively, the mount fixture may be integrally formed in the top surface of the center portion or top surface of the second arm of the door mount holder. The mount fixture is configured to engage with the handheld device. If not integrally formed, the mount fixture may be secured by suction or by hook and loop fasteners or by adhesive. The mount fixture may include a gooseneck, and may have a cradle or tray supported at one end of the gooseneck. The cradle or tray is configured to receive the handheld device. The cradle or tray may have a size-adjustable frame to grip edges of the handheld device and secure the handheld device therein.
The mount clip portion of the door mount holder may be formed of a material that may be shaped or molded. Representative materials that may be used to make the mount clip include thermosetting plastics, fiber reinforced polymers, fiberglass reinforced plastics, carbon fiber reinforced polymers, rubbers, and latex.
Representative handheld devices that may be held in the cradle or tray of the door mount holder include, but are not limited to, a cellular telephone, a pager, or a navigation system unit. Other items that may be held by the cradle or tray of the door mount holder include, but are not limited to, hand sanitizer bottles or containers, trash receptacles and bags, or tissue dispensers or boxes.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the disclosure, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the drawings embodiments of door mountable holders for handheld devices which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. Unless specifically set forth herein, the terms “a,” “an” and “the” are not limited to one element, but instead should be read as meaning “at least one.” The terminology includes the words noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.
It also should be understood that the terms “about,” “approximately,” “generally,” “substantially” and like terms, used herein when referring to a dimension or characteristic of a component of the invention, indicate that the described dimension/characteristic is not a strict boundary or parameter and does not exclude minor variations therefrom that are functionally similar. At a minimum, such references that include a numerical parameter would include variations that, using mathematical and industrial principles accepted in the art (e.g., rounding, measurement or other systematic errors, manufacturing tolerances, etc.), would not vary the least significant digit.
Referring to
The second arm 220 of the mount clip 210 is generally planar and bent downwardly and away from the top surface 212. The second arm 220 terminates at a front end or edge 222. Optionally, a fastener strip 18, such as a patch of a hook and loop fastener, is applied to the front surface of the second arm 220. The fastener strip 18 is adapted to removably secure a mount fixture 50 of a holder for a handheld device 90. See, e.g.,
The mount clip 210 has a left side edge 224 and a right side edge 226. In the embodiment shown in
The bottom surface 214 of the center portion 216 and the bottom surface 214 of the second arm 220 are shaped to conform or seat over a portion of a top ledge and a trim interior of a door 100 of a motor vehicle as is described in more detail below with respect to the second embodiment of
Referring next to
The mount clip 10 has a left side edge 24 and a right side edge 26. In the embodiment shown in
Generally, the mount fixture 50 will be secured to the mount clip 10 before the mount clip is engaged to the window slot 104 of the vehicle door 100. After the mount clip 10 is engaged to the window slot 104 of the vehicle door 100, a handheld device, such as a cellphone 90, is placed in the tray or cradle 80 of the mount fixture 50. In the embodiment shown in
The mount clip 210 of
Another alternative mount clip 310 is shown in
The mount clips 10, 210, and 310 may be fabricated from thermosetting plastics, fiber reinforced polymers, fiberglass reinforced plastics, carbon fiber reinforced polymers, rubbers, and/or latex. Polypropylenes and polyvinyl chlorides are examples of suitable thermosetting plastics. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
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