Patent Application
20160368557
The subject invention relates to an electronic device caddy.
There are a variety of electronic device (e.g., cell phone) caddies. Such caddies may mount to the handle bars of a bicycle. See for example, published U.S. Patent Applications Nos. 2002/0113185 and 2005/0045681.
Various means are used to retain the electronic device in the caddy, some complex. In the applicant's prior caddy, a bungee cord biases two caddy tray portions about the electronic device securing the electronic device in the caddy. See the Delta Cycle Corp. “Smartphone Mount for Bikes” product. Sometimes, however, the cell phone was still ejected from the caddy during rough riding conditions.
In one example of the invention, a new caddy is provided which more securely retains an electronic device and yet is easy to use and enables the electronic device to be quickly and easily loaded into and removed from the caddy. The caddy also includes a passive sound amplifier.
Featured is an electronic device caddy comprising a first tray portion with, for example, two spaced lengthwise channels and an end cage and a second tray portion also including an end cage and two lengthwise rails slideable in the spaced channels of the first tray portion to load and accommodate different size electronic devices between the end cages. A locking mechanism releaseably locks at least one rail in its channel A mounting bracket is attached rearward of one tray portion.
In one version, the locking mechanism includes a cam surface. The rail may include a rearward ear extending out of the channel and the locking mechanism may include a cam surface ferrule, a slot in the ferrule receiving the ear, and a lever attached to the ferrule. Preferably, the cam surface engages the first tray portion frictionally urging the rail against an inside surface of the channel when the ferrule cam surface is rotated. The channel may include a lengthwise rearward slot, the rail may include a lengthwise rearward ridge extending through the slot, and the ear may extend rearwardly from the ridge.
In some designs, the channels terminate proximate the end cage of the first tray portion. The mounting bracket may be configured as a handle bar mount. There may be one or more bungees urging the tray portions together. In one example, a bungee extends from one cage to the other cage.
Also featured is an electronic device caddy comprising an upper tray portion with an upper end cage and a lower tray portion including a lower end cage configured to load and accommodate different size electronic devices between the end cages. Preferably, the passive sound amplifier is a cup shaped member located at the right side of the lower end cage and extending outwardly from the lower tray portion.
The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or methods capable of achieving these objectives.
Other objects, features, and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. If only one embodiment is described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment. Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is clear and convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or disclaimer. In one preferred example, electronic device caddy 10,
The width and depth of the end cages can vary to provide caddies for different size electronic devices (e.g., cellular telephones, GPS units, tablets, mini-tablets, e-book readers, and the like).
Bungee cord 20 is typically provided to bias the two tray portions 12a, 12b closed to assist in retaining an electronic device in the caddy when inserted into end cages 16a and 16b. In this particular example, bungee cord 20 runs from the right hand side of case 16a up to and through the right hand side of cage 16b, over the top of cage 16b, back through the left hand side of cage 16b and down to a termination point at cage 16a. Elastic bumpers 22 can be placed on the front face of the tray portions as shown to cushion the rear of the electronic device.
Also shown is locking mechanism 32 which releaseably locks rail 18b in channel 14b to more securely retain an electronic device in the caddy during rough conditions such as extreme mountain biking. Locking mechanism 32 is secured to the rail and moves with it as the tray portions are adjusted.
In
In this preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism includes cam surface 40 on the exterior of ferrule 42 pivotally mounted to bottom ridge 44 of rail 18b via ear 46 extending rearwardly from ridge 44 out of channel 14b. Ear 46 is pivotally received in slot 48 of ferrule 42. When rotated, the cam surface 40 engages tray 12 a rear surface 50 over channel 14b. A fastener 41 extends through the ferrule and ear. In this way, when lever 34 is moved down as shown in
To accommodate bottom rail ridge 44,
As shown in
Cup member 72,
The passive sound amplifier, in other embodiments, may have different shapes and/or may be located in different locations depending on the speaker(s) associated with electronic devices (e.g., smartphones) available from different manufacturers. Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments.
In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented in the application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected to draft a claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many equivalents will be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair interpretation of what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the amendment may bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are many other reasons the applicant can not be expected to describe certain insubstantial substitutes for any claim element amended.
Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/224,323 filed on Mar. 25, 2014 and claims the benefit of and priority thereto under 35 U.S.C. §§119, 120, 363, 365, and 37 C.F.R. §1.55 and §1.78. and which is incorporated herein by this reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14224323 | Mar 2014 | US |
| Child | 15249621 | US |
