JP3246333U - GPS terminal holder - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a wanderer search aid that allows users such as elderly people who are at risk of wandering to notify relevant parties of their current location using a satellite's position verification function using a GPS terminal carried close to them even when they are out and about, without having to wear the device, start it up, or turn it off of their own volition. [Solution] A storage case that stores a GPS terminal 1 in a watertight and shock-resistant manner via a cushioning material 3 is removably attached to the instep of the footwear used by the user, and the storage case is composed of a storage main body 2, an openable and closable lid 9, and a lock 5. The lid can be locked and unlocked by the user's guardian using the lock, and the user cannot freely touch the GPS terminal, so that the user's current location information is notified to relevant parties using the satellite's position verification function regardless of the user's will. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This invention relates to a storage holder for a GPS portable terminal and a radio signal transmitter that is attached to the human body and holds a commercially available GPS portable terminal or transmitter, allowing a third party to search for the user's current location information, making it available to children, wanderers, or users who are unable to express their own intentions through language.

Conventionally, there is known a care service that allows a guardian or a caregiver to search for the current location of a user by GPS positioning via the Internet, even if the user, such as an infant, an elderly person, or a wanderer with dementia, gets lost and does not know his/her current location, by equipping the user with a commercially available GPS terminal near the user's body in advance. Specific means for realizing this technology include a method of having the user wear clothing incorporating an antenna, an internal circuit, and a GPS terminal (Patent Document 1), or a method of embedding a GPS terminal in the heel of a shoe (Patent Document 2), etc.

Published Patent Application No. 2003-239118 Published Patent Application No. 2006-223480

However, the person requiring care does not always wear clothes with a built-in GPS device as specified in JP 2003-239118 A, and there are many reported cases where a person with severe dementia goes out in their night clothes while their family is asleep, or where a person requiring care takes off their clothes and wanders around in only their underwear. In such cases, the caregiver cannot search for the current location information of the person who moved. In addition, in the case of the method of embedding a GPS terminal in the heel of a shoe as specified in JP 2006-223480 A, as the heel wears down, the built-in GPS terminal is subjected to too much impact and load depending on the road surface conditions, and especially when the user walks on uneven ground and steps on a pebble, the parts are likely to be destroyed by the impact, and water from rain or puddles is likely to get in, which can easily cause electrical circuit failure due to water leakage.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve these problems by providing a GPS terminal holder that is easy to use and available at a reasonable price, allowing the user to accurately search for location information using a GPS terminal without having to pay special attention to the weather or road conditions, and regardless of the condition of the shoes being used.

According to the invention described in claim 1, the device is a GPS terminal holder as a single item for attaching a GPS terminal to any footwear currently used by the user for walking. That is, the holder is composed of a storage section for storing a GPS terminal, a lid section for freely opening and closing the storage section, a lock section for fixing the lid section to the storage section, and an extension section for attaching the holder to the footwear. Furthermore, the inner walls of both the storage section and the lid section are lined with cushioning material, so that the stored GPS terminal is stored in a manner that can withstand external impacts. In addition, the exterior material of the holder is made of a water-repellent or waterproof material, and the openable lid section is engaged with the storage section in a watertight state, so that the GPS terminal stored in the device is protected from water leakage. In addition, the outer surface of the bottom of the storage section of the holder is roughly saddle-shaped to approximate the instep of the foot, and extensions with open holes are formed facing each other from the lower edges of the storage section, so that the holder can be fixed using a commercially available tie belt or the like so that it fits roughly in contact with the instep of the shoe worn by the user, thereby solving the problem.

Since the GPS terminal is battery-powered, it must be removed from the holder after a certain period of time has elapsed, charged, and then stored back in. In addition, the lid of the holder is formed with a lock so that the user, a dementia patient who requires care, cannot take out the GPS terminal at will, and only the family member providing care can open and lock it, thereby solving the problem.

The material of the GPS terminal holder is mainly polyacetal, Teflon, polypropylene, and other engineering plastic materials that are strong yet highly elastic, and are formed into an appropriate shape and performance by processing means such as injection molding. Metal plate materials or waterproof leather materials are also used. The inner wall material attached to the storage section and the lid is lined with a cushioning material made of an elastic material with sufficient impact resistance, such as expanded polyethylene or elastomer, and the GPS terminal stored in a state where it is completely wrapped in the cushioning material is simultaneously held in a watertight state, so that it is protected from external impacts and water leakage, and it is possible to prevent breakage due to impacts and circuit failure due to water leakage, which are prone to occur in conventional GPS terminals installed in the heels of shoes, for example. Furthermore, the shape of the outer bottom surface of the device is formed into a recess that is said to be roughly saddle-shaped, similar to the instep of the human foot, so that it can be attached so that it fits closely to the user's footwear, such as the shoelaces of a shoe. This further reduces the impact caused by the user walking, and combined with the waterproof function and the impact resistance provided by the cushioning material, reduces the probability of the GPS terminal breaking down, and the device is designed to withstand long-term continuous use of the GPS terminal.

The GPS terminal holder has extensions formed on both opposing sides of the lower edge of the storage section, and at least two openings formed on the surface of each extension, which serve as an attachment section for fixing the device to the footwear provided by the user. For example, if the user's footwear is shoes with shoelaces such as leather shoes or sneakers, the holder can be easily attached to the shoelaces or lace holes by passing a commercially available tie belt through the through holes opened in the extensions extending from both sides of the GPS terminal storage section. If the user's footwear is a wide belt with Velcro specifications without shoelaces, the holder can be attached to the belt. Similarly, even if the user's footwear is sandals or sandals, the device can be easily attached to a member that passes through the instep of the user's foot using the above method. The tie belt is made of a flexible yet strong resin and is difficult to remove without using tools, so it is not easy for the user to remove it when going out, and it is extremely effective as an attachment for the device because it is inexpensive and easy to obtain in various sizes for caregivers and can be easily fixed with sufficient strength.

When the GPS terminal holder is primarily made of engineering plastic, for example, most of the main parts of the body, including the storage section, lid section, extension section, through hole, opening and closing hinge, waterproof ring groove, and lock storage section, can be molded in a single molding operation. Therefore, the device is completed simply by attaching the waterproof ring and lock section to the released semi-finished product, making it less prone to breakdowns and enabling the provision of a robust GPS terminal holder at low cost that is easy for caregivers to use.

As mentioned above, the GPS terminal holder is a holder for attaching a GPS terminal to any footwear that the user currently owns and uses for walking, and the caregiver purchases the holder and attaches it to the footwear of the user who requires care. As is currently widely done, the caregiver sends the footwear used by the caregiver to a processing company to process the heel of a specific footwear to store a GPS terminal and sends it back, or purchases a specific shoe that has been processed to hold a GPS terminal. This is a GPS terminal holder as a single item that does not require the trouble of this. That is, in the case of a care-requiring person such as a dementia patient, it is known that the patient generally has a strong attachment to the attachment that he or she currently uses, and tends to prefer only the specific footwear that he or she is accustomed to wearing when going out. Therefore, if the footwear that he or she likes to wear is temporarily out of sight, the patient will exhibit problematic behavior, or even if new footwear is given instead, the caregiver will be at a loss, and other problems are known to be the result. The present invention is one effective means for solving these problems, and since it can be manufactured technically easily, it can be provided to the market at a low cost.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. The dimensions of the GPS terminal assumed in this embodiment are approximately 47.5 mm in length, approximately 38.5 mm in width, approximately 11.85 mm in thickness, and approximately 25.5 g in weight. The body of the holder is made of polypropylene, and the storage section, lid section, waterproof groove section, hinge section, lock section, extension section, and opening section are all integrally molded by injection molding with a plate thickness of approximately 1.5 mm. In this integrally molded product, a protective silicone ring of approximately 1.5 mm square is inserted into the protective groove section by post-processing, a buffer layer of high-density foamed polyethylene with a thickness of approximately 5 mm is bonded to the inner wall surface of the storage section and the lid section, respectively, and a mechanism section is attached to the lock section to form a finished product. In order for a caregiver to attach this GPS terminal holder to the footwear of a user who requires care, the GPS terminal is first stored in a zippered plastic bag, and then stored in the buffer layer of the storage section of the device, and the opening and closing lid is closed and locked. The above method protects the stored GPS terminal from water leakage and impact, so that it can be used as a useful means of searching for the location information of a person requiring care by simply removing the GPS terminal when necessary, such as charging it, and then performing the same simple operations. This is because it has been reported that severe dementia patients may wander around wearing only underwear after taking off their outerwear, and are rarely barefoot, and are often wearing some kind of footwear. Therefore, a method of easily attaching a GPS terminal to the user's footwear, such as this device, is expected to be of great benefit to caregivers in searching for location information.

As described above, the method of attaching this device to the footwear of the person requiring care can be easily, reliably, and inexpensively performed using commercially available tie belts for electrical circuits, etc., and the GPS terminal can be removed and re-stored very easily even with the device attached to the footwear. In addition, when changing the attachment to a different pair of footwear, the tie belt fixed to the footwear can be cut with a tool such as a nipper to remove the device, and it can be easily reattached to the other footwear in the same manner as described above. Naturally, the method of attaching this device to the footwear is not limited to the commercially available tie belts as described above, and strong strings or metal wires can also be used, and any strong material that is easily available to the caregiver who handles the device can be used without any problems.

As described above, the GPS terminal holder based on the present invention is basically constructed by combining a watertight exterior made of a rigid waterproof material with a shock-absorbing material on the inner wall. Therefore, various products can be devised by combining the above two types of materials. In other words, the basic material of the device can be made of not only resin or metal, but also leather that has been waterproofed and has waterproof seams, the opening and closing method of the lid can be not only hinged but also fitted, or a waterproof fastener used in diving equipment can be used, and the shock-absorbing material can be not only foam material but also elastomer or vibration-proof gel. The device has waterproof function, shock-resistant function, and locking function, and can be attached to the instep of the user's foot to easily search the user's current location, so that products with each characteristic can be constructed as the device.

An embodiment will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. Referring to Fig. 1, this figure shows an embodiment of a GPS terminal holder based on the present invention, and is an overall front view of the unlocked cover open at a 90 degree angle. The GPS terminal is stored in the center of the storage section surrounded by a cushioning material, silicone waterproof rings are fitted into the ring grooves around the four edges of the storage section, and a locking claw insertion hole and a lock section are formed on the outside of the short end of the storage section opposite the hinge section.

Explaining with reference to Fig. 2, this figure is an overall side view of one embodiment of a GPS terminal holder with the unlocked lid open at an angle of 90 degrees. In this embodiment, the storage section and the lid are integrally molded via a hinge section, so the lid can be opened and closed at any angle beyond 90 degrees. In addition, the GPS terminal stored in the center of the storage section surrounded by cushioning material protrudes beyond the cushioning material, making it easy for caregivers to take it out.

Explaining with reference to Fig. 3, this figure is an overall plan view of one embodiment of the GPS terminal holder with the unlocked lid open at a 90 degree angle. The bottom of the storage section is formed in a roughly saddle shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the upper part of footwear such as shoes, and the device can be fastened to shoe holes or the like via tie belts or the like in the respective openings of the extensions extending on both sides of the lower part of the storage section. Therefore, it is possible to unlock the device while it is fastened to the footwear of the person requiring care, open the lid, and easily remove and attach the GPS terminal.

Explaining with reference to FIG. 4, this figure is an overall front view showing the state in which the cover of one embodiment of the GPS terminal holder is closed and locked.

FIG. 5 is an overall side view showing one embodiment of the GPS terminal holder with the cover closed and locked.

Explaining with reference to FIG. 6, this figure is an overall plan view showing the state in which the cover of one embodiment of the GPS terminal holder is closed and locked.

Explaining with reference to Fig. 7, this figure is a vertical central cross-sectional view of Fig. 5. At this time, the inner flat surface of the periphery of the cover is in close contact with the waterproof ring of the storage unit, and the GPS terminal is locked via the cushioning material of the cover and storage unit, so the GPS terminal is protected from external impacts and water leakage and is held safely.

1 is a front view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a side view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a front view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall view of a GPS terminal holder in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a vertical central cross-sectional view of a side view showing an overall view of the GPS terminal holder in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 GPS terminal 2 Storage section 3 Cushioning material 4 Waterproof silicone ring 5 Lock section 6 Insertion port 7 Extension section 8 Opening section 9 Lid section 10 Lock tongue section 11 Hinge section

Claims (1)

a base plate of said GPS terminal holder for attaching a GPS terminal (a terminal end of a device for detecting location information) to any footwear used by a user for walking, said GPS terminal holder comprising a storage section for storing said GPS terminal, a lid section for covering said storage section in an openable and closable manner, and a lock section for fixing said lid section to said storage section, at least one of the opposing peripheral sections of a bottom plate of said storage section has an extension section formed thereon, and each of said extension sections is formed so as to have at least two release holes, an exterior material of said holder has water repellent or hydrogen proof properties, the lid section for covering the GPS terminal storage section in an openable and closable manner is engaged with the storage section body in a watertight manner, the internal wall surfaces of said storage section and said lid section are lined with a cushioning material to store said GPS terminal in an impact resistant manner, and the outer surface of the bottom of said storage section is formed into an approximate saddle shape approximating the instep of the foot.

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