Patent Application
20230122895
Computing/communication and similar electronic devices have become ubiquitous, more compact, and more portable. Tablets and laptop computers have largely replaced desktop computers. Cell phones, despite their small size, are capable of performing many of the tasks that support the complex and busy lifestyle of the present day. For at least this reason, a significant number of individuals are seldom separated from their cell phones or similar devices, including while driving or multitasking in various settings. Compact computing devices also include electronic devices such as reading tablets, which have a selected, specific use such as, for example, the display of text.
The number of uses for small personal electronic devices such as cell phones in particular, has expanded recently to include the ability to conduct remote meetings, perform video and audio recording and playback, display navigation maps, and run thousands of applications where orienting the cell phone in a specified manner enables a desired use of the device, such as video capture, for example, and convenient acquisition or playback of other types of visual and auditory data. Use of a cell phone in these and other ways in a hands-free manner enables the user to perform other tasks safely and efficiently or, at least, without the need to hold the cell phone. For purposes of the present disclosure, cell phones, tablets, and other similar electronic devices that are sized and shaped to be held in a user's hand or hands, and similarly shaped and sized device with no computing or electronic functionality, will be referred to hereinafter as compact utility devices. It will be understood that the present disclosure, therefore, is directed to stands or holders configured to support a variety of compact utility devices, such as cell phones and tablets, and single application devices, such as book readers, all of which come in a wide array of shapes and sizes.
There is a need for a stand for a compact utility device that is capable of holding devices with various sizes and shaped securely in a desired orientation. Devices and methods according to the disclosure satisfy this need.
In one aspect, the disclosure describes a stand for a compact utility device includes a base and a holder assembly. The holder assembly includes a housing defining an interior space. The housing is attached to and is supported by the base. A first arm and a second arm are moveably disposed in and extend from the interior space of the housing. The first arm and the second arm extend from opposite sides of the housing and the first arm and the second arm are cooperatively configured to hold a compact utility device. An adjusting mechanism is disposed in the interior space of the housing and is operably connected to the first arm and the second arm and is configured to synchronize movement of the first arm and the second arm when one of the first arm and second arm are moved outwardly or inwardly.
The present disclosure is an adjustable stand or holder for a variety of compact utility devices. In a most general form, and referring to
The base 22, holder assembly 24, and joint 26 can be made of any suitable material, such as plastic, composite materials, or metal, or combinations thereof. In terms of manufacturing processes, the parts of the stand 20 can be formed by injection molding, additive manufacturing, CNC processes, casting, forging, and any suitable known manufacturing processes.
The base 22 may include a body 28 having a generally flat overall configuration, with any suitable shape, such as circular, rectangular, triangular, or having a central portion 30 with a plurality of feet 32 that extend radially from the central portion to provide stability to the stand 20. In one embodiment, the base 22 includes four feet 32.
The central portion 30 of the base 22, also referring to
One embodiment of the seat 38 includes a tongue 40, which may be in the general form of a rectangular tab. The tongue 40 may include a pair of opposed, flanking spring members 42, which may be generally finger-shaped and flexible and spaced apart from the tongue such that the spring members can be pressed inwardly by insertion into the opposed channels 36 of the shoe 34 and the seat 38 can thereby enter into the shoe 34. Once the spring members 42 pass into and through the shoe 34 they resiliently spread outwardly and snap into a position whereby the seat 38 is prevented from disengaging from the shoe 34. Removing the seat 38 from the shoe 34 involves pressing inwardly the spring members 42 to disengage the spring members from the channels 36, which permits the seat to slide back out of the shoe. The seat 38 may be formed with a shoulder or stop 44. The stop 44 is brought into contact with the channels 36 of the shoe 34 when the seat 38 is positioned in a fully engaged condition with the shoe to position the holder assembly 24 on the base 22.
The joint 26 may be in the form of a finger joint, with lower fingers 46 interleaved with upper fingers 48. The lower and upper fingers 46, 48 are able to pivot with respect to each other such that the relative position of the holder assembly 24 relative to the base 22 can be changed. The lower fingers 46 are attached to the seat 38 or formed as a one-piece construction of the seat. The upper fingers 48 are attached to the holding assembly 24 or formed as a one-piece construction of the holder assembly.
The lower fingers 46 may include a fastener housing 50, which is in the form of material of the lower fingers that have a threaded bore or is sized and shaped to house a nut (not shown). A screw fastener 56, which may be a finger screw or a screw with a knob, fashioned to permit manipulation, i.e., tightening and loosening, by a user, passes through the interleaved lower fingers 46 and upper fingers 48 and is engaged with the fastener housing 50 to act as a clamp to fix the angular position of the joint 26 in a desired orientation when clamped and enables the joint to pivot when unclamped. In other words, when the screw fastener 56 is tightened, the lower and upper fingers 46, 48 are clamped to each other and the friction created in the interleaved fingers when so clamped causes the joint 26 to be fixed in the clamped position. The joint 26 permits the holder assembly 24, and therefore a compact device held thereby, to be oriented in a number of positions, such as vertically, horizontally, and angled in-between for convenient viewing and/or use. The joint 26 may be a ball joint or a toothed joint, or any suitable joint that permits the holder assembly to be fixed in a variety of orientations or a fixed pier that orients the holder assembly in a set, predetermined configuration.
Referring to both
In one embodiment, the upper fingers 48 are attached to or part of the rear cover 60. Generally, the front and rear covers 58, 60 enclose an interior space 66. The front cover 58 and rear cover 60 may both be generally rectangular in shape and when fastened together may form a generally rectangular enclosure defining the interior space. The front cover 58 may include an outer layer of material 86 that has a rough or sticky texture, such as an elastomeric coating, and/or may include an imbedded magnet (not shown) to assist in retaining a compact device to the holder 20 when positioned thereon.
The holding assembly 24 includes a first arm 62 that extends into the interior space 66 and extends outwardly to the right (as viewed in the figures) and a second arm 64 that extends into the interior space and extends outwardly to the left, i.e., in the opposite direction relative to the first arm 62. The interior space 66 houses an adjusting mechanism, which will be detailed hereinbelow, which ensures the equal extension and retraction of the arms 62, 64 from the interior space 66 and furthermore enables the clamping of the arms in a desired position. The arms 62, 64 are configured to hold a compact computing device as will be detailed herein and are further configured to interact with the adjusting mechanism to adapt the spacing of the arms to the size and shape of a compact device to be held thereby. In particular, the adaptability of the spacing of the arms 62, 64 afforded by the adjusting mechanism allows devices, such as cell phones, to be held in portrait or landscape orientations as well as a variety of sizes and shapes of such devices.
Each of the arms 62, 64 has a respective back plate 72, 74 and a jaw 76, 78. The back plates 72, 74 both have an I-beam shape with a vertical web 81, an upper flange 83, and a lower flange 85 attached to respective upper and lower edges of the web. The flanges 83, 85 are oriented in a plane normal to the plane of the web 81.
Both the front cover 58 and rear cover 60, or only one of the covers, include a generally vertical notch and a pair of spaced apart notches at respective ends of the vertical notch, which are configured such that when the covers are assembled into housing 70, a vertical slot 80 (
The first arm 62 has a first jaw 76 and the second arm 64 has a second jaw 78. The first jaw 76 is “J” shaped (viewed from the front) with a vertical channel 88 transitioning to a curved section 90 and terminating with a horizontal section 92 at a lower end thereof. The second jaw 78 is “L” shaped (viewed from the front) with a vertical channel 94 transitioning to a curved section 96 and terminating with a horizontal section 98 at a lower end thereof. When brought inwardly together to hold a compact device the first and second jaws 76, 78 and the front cover 58 capture and hold the compact device. The jaws 62, 64 are cooperatively configured to hold a compact device because they operate together to secure the device on the stand 20.
Both the first and second jaws 76, 78 have in each respective vertical channel a notch 100, which provides a clearance such that a cable, such as a power cord (not shown), may be connected to the compact device while the device is held by the holder 20. The jaws 76, 78 are movable inwardly, toward the housing 79 and therefore each other, and outwardly. The jaws 76, 78 are fixable in position when adjusted as desired and a clamping knob 102 located on the rear cover 60 (
The back plate 72 of the first arm 62 includes a clearance slot 104, which is located about halfway between the upper flange 83 and the lower flange 85. The clearance slot 104 is parallel to arm adjustment axis A. The back plate 74 of the second arm 64 includes a clearance slot 106, which is located about halfway between the upper flange 82 and the lower flange 84. The clearance slot 106 is parallel to arm adjustment axis A and coaxial with the clearance slot 104 of the first arm.
The back plate 72 of the first arm 62 includes a first rack slot 108, which is located on one side of the axis of the clearance slot 104 and between the upper flange 82 and the lower flange 84. For example, rack slot 108 may be “below” the clearance slot 104. The rack slot 108 is parallel to arm adjustment axis A. The back plate 74 of the second arm 64 includes a rack slot 110, which is located on the other side of the clearance slot 106 opposite the axis of the rack slot 108 and between the upper flange 82 and the lower flange 84. For example, the rack slot 110 may be “above” the clearance slot 106. The rack slot 110 is parallel to arm adjustment axis A. Each of the rack slots 108, 110 includes a toothed section 112 in the form of a rack. The toothed sections 112 are configured to engage gear wheels as will explained in connection with
Turning to
The adjusting mechanism 116 is visible when the rear cover is removed. The adjusting mechanism 116 includes a first driven gear 118 and a second driven gear 120 engaged with the first driven gear. The first driven gear 118 may be mounted such that the clamping knob 102 may be used to clamp the first driven gear and lock the adjusting mechanism in position. The first driven gear 118 and the second driven gear 120 may both be simple spur gears.
The first driven gear 118 is also engaged with a first input gear 122. The first input gear 122 is a double spur gear with a first gear portion engaged with the first driven gear 118 and a second gear portion engaged with the toothed section 112 of the rack slot 108 of the first arm 62. When the first driven gear 118 is turned counterclockwise (viewed from the front) the first input gear 122 is turned clockwise. The engagement of the first input gear 122 with the toothed section 112 of the rack slot 108 of the first arm 62 causes the first arm to move outwardly from the interior space 66 and the housing 70 when the first driven gear 118 is turned counterclockwise.
The second driven gear 120 is engaged with a second input gear 124. The second input gear 124 is also a double spur gear with a first gear portion engaged with the second driven gear 120 and a second gear portion engaged with the toothed section 112 of the rack slot 110 of the second arm 64. When the first driven gear 118 is turned counterclockwise (viewed from the front), the second driven gear 120 is turned clockwise (viewed from the front) and the second input gear 124 is turned counterclockwise. The engagement of the second input gear 124 with the toothed section 112 of the rack slot 110 of the second arm 64 causes the second arm to move outwardly from the interior space 66 and the housing 70 and in an opposite direction relative to the first arm 62.
Because the first driven gear 118 and the second driven gear 120 are engaged respectively with the first and second input gears 122, 124, operation of the adjusting mechanism 116 by moving one of the arms causes the arms 62, 64 to move inwardly or outwardly the same distance in a synchronized manner. In addition, when the arms 62, 64 have been adjusted to hold a device, preventing the adjusting mechanism 116 from operating locks the arms into position. Tightening the clamping knob 102 locks the adjusting mechanism 166 and prevent movement of the gears thereof and thus fixes the arms in position. For purposes of the present disclosure, the term “synchronize,” “synchronization,” and “synchronized” will mean movement of the arms in a coordinated manner, both moving inwardly or outwardly relative to the housing 70, at the same rate involving operation of the adjusting mechanism 116.
Referring to
Both
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “at least one” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of the term “at least one” followed by a list of one or more items (for example, “at least one of A and B”) is to be construed to mean one item selected from the listed items (A or B) or any combination of two or more of the listed items (A and B), unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention. Terms referring to positions or orientations are given according to the drawing views unless noted otherwise. The term “configured” refers to size and shape of an element or elements unless noted otherwise.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
