The disclosure relates generally to a carrier device, and, more particularly, to a kinetic carrier device that can enclose, house, protect, transport and/or store one or more articles.
Protective case technology has evolved over time to include aesthetically appealing structures that can hold and protect articles of manufacture (such as, for example, consumer products, electronic equipment, or objects), naturally occurring articles (such as, for example, crystals, fossils, organisms, or other objects founds in nature), or any other type of article. Protective case technology can include packaging technology. Protective case technology can include the science, art or technology of enclosing and protecting articles for transport, distribution, storage, sale, or use.
Conventional protective case technologies typically include structures that are difficult to use, aesthetically unappealing, or that do not provide the requisite amount of protection for an article during transport, storage or use. An unmet need exists for a protective case technology that is aesthetically appealing, functional, easy to use, and that can provide the necessary protection for an article.
The disclosure provides a protective case technology that satisfies and exceeds such unmet needs. The protecting case technology includes a kinetic carrier device and a method of making the kinetic carrier device. The kinetic carrier device can include a packaging system that can secure and hold one or more articles in a chamber of the kinetic carrier device. The chamber can be created by enclosure of a space in the kinetic carrier device.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, a kinetic carrier device is provided that has one degree of freedom (1 DOF). The kinetic carrier device includes a plurality of panels, a receiver configured to hold one or more articles, and a transformative attachment mechanism configured to attach at least a pair of the plurality of panels to the receiver. The transformative attachment mechanism is configured to facilitate movement of the plurality of panels in three-degrees-of-freedom (3 DOF) or six-degrees-of-freedom (6 DOF) with respect to the receiver, and to transform the 3 DOF/6 DOF motion to 1 DOF motion, or vice versa.
In various embodiments, the transformative attachment mechanism is configured to guide a pair of adjacent panels to a closed configuration, thereby forming a chamber in the kinetic carrier device.
In an embodiment, the kinetic carrier device is configured to form a spherical shape when in a closed configuration.
In an embodiment, the kinetic carrier device is configured to form a cylindrical shape when in a closed configuration.
The transformative attachment mechanism comprises a pivot foundation and a pivot network, wherein the pivot foundation and the pivot network cooperate to transform six-degrees-of-freedom motion to one-degree-of-freedom motion.
The pivot foundation can comprise at least one a pivot member, a base rotation member, a hinge, and a base. The hinge can be configured to pivotally attach the base to an end of the pivot member. The base can be configured to attach to an inner surface of the receiver. The base can be configured as part of the receiver. Another end of the pivot member can be configured to attach to the base rotation member.
The pivot network includes a network of a plurality of rotation members. The pivot network can include network of a plurality of rotation member fasteners, each one of the plurality of rotation member fasteners corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of rotation members.
In an embodiment, the transformative attachment mechanism comprises a pivot member and a rotational member.
The kinetic carrier device can include at least a pair of sealing members, each of the pair of sealing members being positioned on a panel and configured to engage another of the pair of sealing members on an adjacent panel.
In an embodiment, the plurality of panels comprises six semi-spherical panels configured to form a spherical shape when the device is in a closed configuration.
In an embodiment, the plurality of panels comprises two semi-cylindrical panels configured to form a cylindrical shape when the device is in a closed configuration.
According to a further aspect, a 1 DOF kinetic carrier device is provided having a receiver configured to hold one or more articles and a transformative attachment mechanism configured to attach at least a pair of a plurality of panels to the receiver and facilitate transformation of movement of the plurality of panels from three-degrees-of-freedom (3 DOF) or six-degrees-of-freedom (6 DOF) to one-degree-of-freedom (1 DOF). The transformative mechanism includes a pivot foundation configured to attach to the receiver and a pivot network configured to attach the plurality of panels. The pivot foundation and the pivot network cooperate to transform 3 DOF or 6 DOF movement to 1 DOF movement. The pivot foundation comprises a pivot member, a base rotation member, a hinge, and a base. The hinge is configured to pivotally attach the base to an end of the pivot member. The base can be configured to attach to an inner surface of, or be integrated with, the receiver. The pivot member is configured to attach to the base rotation member.
Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced.
The present disclosure is further described in the detailed description and drawings that follows.
The embodiments of the disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. The features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment can be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure can be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
According to the disclosure, a kinetic carrier device is provided that has one-degree-of-freedom (1 DOF). The kinetic carrier device can be made to have any three-dimensional (3D) shape, including, for example, a sphere, a pyramid, a cone, a cube, a cuboid, a tetrahedron, a hexagonal pyramid, an octahedron, a dodecahedron, an icosahedron, an ellipsoid, a cylinder, or any other 3D shape that can be employed according to the principles of the disclosure. The kinetic carrier device can include one or more panels that can cover an opening of, or encapsulate, a chamber in the kinetic carrier device. The one or more panels can be configured to form the chamber in the kinetic carrier device. The kinetic carrier device can include a receiver that can be arranged to hold one or more articles. The receiver can be arranged to receive and securely hold the one or more articles.
The kinetic carrier device can be made of a material such as, for example, metal, wood, carbon fiber, fiberglass, plastic, glass, or any natural or manmade material, or any combination of the foregoing.
Referring to
In various embodiments, the panels 20 are arranged to move simultaneously as an interconnected network, to open or close and, thereby, enclose or expose the chamber 62 formed by the panels 20 and the receiver 30. For instance, the panels 20 can be arranged to open to provide access to a space that forms the chamber 62 when the kinetic carrier device 1 is in the closed configuration, including any articles in the space. The panels 20 are arranged to move simultaneously in a first direction to transform the kinetic carrier device 1 to a closed configuration (for example, shown in
In the embodiment depicted in
Referring to
Referring to
In a nonlimiting embodiment, the pivot member 36 can be integrally formed with the receiver 30. In that embodiment, the hinge 33 can include, for example, a living hinge that is made of the same material as the receiver 30.
In various embodiments, the base 35 can be integrally formed with the receiver 30.
The receiver 30 can include an opening 38 (shown
The base rotation member 37 can include a mechanical articulating joint, such as, for example, a heim joint, a rod end bearing, a rose joint, a ball joint, a spherical bearing, a ball swivel, a rod, or any combination thereof. The base rotation member 37 can include, for example, a spherical bearing that attaches to the pivot member 36 and a rod that attaches to one or more of the panels 20, such as, for example, a pair of panels 20 that are located adjacent to each other, as seen in, for example,
Each panel 20 can include a pair of connection points, including a first connection point that attaches the panel 20 to the base rotation member 37 and a second connection point that attaches the panel 20 to a panel rotation member 23 and a second adjacent panel 20 that is different from the first adjacent panel 20. A combination of all of the panel rotation members 23 forms, in the aggregate, the pivot network, such that the application of a force at a single point on the kinetic carrier device 1 is transferred and resultant force vectors distributed across all panel rotation members 23 and all base rotation members 37 to provide 1 OF, for example, from 3 OF or 6 OF.
In the embodiment depicted in
In an embodiment, the first connection point of each panel 20 can be arranged to attach to a unique base rotation member 37.
In an embodiment, the first connection point of each panel 20 in a pair of adjacent panels 20 can be arranged to attach to a common base rotation member 37, as seen, for example, in
In various embodiments, the panel rotation member 23 can include a pin, a rod, a bearing, a gear, or a mechanism that allows for rotational movement in a two-dimensional (2D) plane.
In an embodiment, the panel rotation member 23 can include a base rotation member 37.
Each panel 20 can include a sealing member 21 that is arranged to engage a sealing member 21 in an adjacent panel 20 to secure the panel 20 to the adjacent panel 20. The sealing member 21 can include, for example, a magnet, a metal pin, a metal rod, a metal plate, a tongue-and-groove, or any mechanism that can secure the sealing members 21 to each other, necessitating a predetermined amount of force to disengage the sealing members 21 and move the adjacent panels 20 away from each other to open the kinetic carrier device 1.
An embodiment of the transformative attachment mechanism can include three-degrees-of-freedom (3 DOF).
In an embodiment, the receiver 30 includes a spherical or semi-spherical shape having a cavity configured to receive and hold an article (not shown). Other embodiments of the receiver 30 are contemplated in this disclosure, including structures having shapes other than semi-spherical, depending on a particular purpose or application of the kinetic carrier device 1, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.
In an embodiment, the receiver 30 can include an opening (not shown), which can be arranged to provide access from the bottom of the device 1 to the chamber 62 in the kinetic carrier device 1 while in the closed configuration. The receiver 30 can include an attachment mechanism (not shown) that can attach to an external structure (not shown), such as, for example, a pole, a rod, or any other suitable structure that can attach to the receiver 30 to support the kinetic carrier device 1.
Referring to
In an alternative embodiment, the holes 65 can be configured to allow an attachment mechanism to pass through the hole 65 and attach to the receiver 30 body at one end and an article (not shown) positioned in the chamber 62 at another end, or to the receiver 30 body through another hole 65 with the article fastened therebetween.
Referring to
In various embodiments, each panel 20 of the pair of panels can be connected at one end of the panel 20 to an end of the other panel 20 by a hinge 28. The hinge 28 can include a joint that allows the panels 20 to pivot or rotate with respect to each other. At the other end, one of the pair of panels 20 can be connected to the side wall 50 and/or the base 70 by, for example, a hinge mechanism 342 (shown in
In various embodiments, the slide mechanism 341 can be pivotally attached to an inner wall of the side wall 50 and the side wall 50 configured to rotate about the attachment mechanism(s) 29.
In an embodiment, the other of the pair of panels 20 can be arranged to be separable from the side walls 50 and the base 70.
In the embodiment depicted in
In an embodiment, the receiver 30 can include a back wall 34 (shown in
In an embodiment, the kinetic carrier device (e.g., 1 or 4) can include a packaging system (not shown). The packaging system can include an attachment mechanism (not shown) that can attach to the receiver 30, or be placed in the chamber in the receiver 30, and be arranged to receive and hold a particular type, size, or shape of an article, such as, for example, a consumer product, electronic equipment, jewelry, or any manmade or naturally occurring article.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of manufacturing is contemplated for making each component of the kinetic carrier device, including, for example, steel making, metal casting, die casting, molding, injection molding, rotational molding, extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, casting, vacuum casting, thermoforming, compression molding, blowing, mould-blowing, pattern-moulding, tralling, cutting, fire-polishing, woodworking, carving, laminating, spinning, carbonizing, sizing, or any combination of the foregoing.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of assembling is contemplated for assembling each component to make the kinetic carrier device.
The terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used in this disclosure, means “one or more,” unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms “including,” “comprising,” and variations thereof, as used in this disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise.
Although process steps, method steps, or the like, may be described in a sequential order, such processes and methods can be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of the processes or methods described herein can be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps can be performed simultaneously.
When a single structure or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single structure or article may be used in place of the more than one structure or article. The functionality or the features of a structure or article may be alternatively embodied by one or more other structures or articles that are not explicitly described as having such functionality or feature.
While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure.
This application is entitled to and hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/517,678, filed Aug. 4, 2023, titled “Kinetic Carrier Device,” which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63517678 | Aug 2023 | US |