US20140097110A1

US20140097110A1 - Adjustable holder for electronic devices

Info

Publication number: US20140097110A1
Application number: US13/647,660
Authority: US
Inventors: Chia-Ling Shieh
Original assignee: C D Great Furniture Co Ltd
Current assignee: C D Great Furniture Co Ltd
Priority date: 2012-10-09
Filing date: 2012-10-09
Publication date: 2014-04-10

Abstract

An adjustable holder for electronic devices is provided with a base, two holding plates, an adjustable plate, and a limiting unit. The adjustable holder for electronic devices can be easily adjusted to fit different sized electronic devices simply by rotating the adjustable plate to adjust the distance between the two holding plates.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for electronic devices, and more particularly to an adjustable holder for electronic devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the popularity of the flat-panel type electronic devices, most of consumers would like to have a conventional electronic device holder 10, as shown in FIG. 1, to hold the electronic devices. However, this holder 10 only fits a single type of electronic devices or the electronic devices of the same brand since the size of the holder 10 is fixed and not adjustable. Accordingly, different electronic devices of different sizes have to be held by different holders.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable holder capable of holding different sized electronic devices.
To achieve the above objective, an adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention comprises: a base, two holding plates, an adjustable plate, and a limiting unit.
The two holding plates each have two opposite holding portions for holding the electronic device, one of the holding plates is formed with a button, the holding plates are disposed at one side of the base.
The adjustable plate is formed on one side thereof with at least one spiral channel, the adjustable plate is disposed at one side of each of the holding plates, and the button of the holding plates is received in the spiral channel of the adjustable plate.
The limiting unit has a first limiting portion disposed on the base and a second limiting portion disposed on the holding plates, the first and second limiting portions cooperate with each other to limit the holding plates to move linearly, and rotating the adjustable plate can drive the holding plates to move by the cooperation of the spiral channel and the button, and via the limiting unit.
The adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention can be easily adjusted to fit different sized electronic devices simply by rotating the adjustable plate to adjust the distance between the two holding plates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional electronic device holder;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing an adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is another exploded view showing the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an assembly view showing the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view showing the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the two holding plates are at the closest position to each other correspondingly;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing the adjustable plate in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a part of the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is another cross sectional view of a part of the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is another cross sectional view of a part of the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is another cross sectional view of a part of the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view showing the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the two holding plates are at the furthest position to each other;

FIG. 12 showing that an electronic device is held in the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view showing an adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 2-13, an adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises: a base 20, two holding plates 30, an adjustable plate 40, a locking member 50, a locking disc 60 and a limiting unit 70.
The base 20 is formed on one side thereof with an extending flange 21 and two inserting holes 24 in the flange 21.
Each of the holding plates 30 includes a semicircle edge 31 and two opposite holding portions 33. One of the holding plates 30 is formed with a window 36. The holding plates 30 are disposed at one side of the base 20 in such a manner that the semicircle edges 31 are pressed against the flange 21 of the base 20, and the holding portions 33 of the holding plates 30 are used to hold the corners of an electronic device A. The logo of the electronic device A can be exposed via the space defined by the two semicircle edges 31 of the two holding plates 30, and the model number of the electronic device A can be seen via the window 36.
The adjustable plate 40 includes a central hole 41 and a plurality of engaging teeth 411 formed on an inner surface of the central hole 41. One side of the adjustable plate 40 is formed two symmetrically arranged spiral channels 42, each of the spiral channels 42 includes a first end 421 and a second end 422, and the second end 422 is located further away from the periphery of the central hole 41 than the first end 421, as shown in FIG. 6. The adjustable plate 40 is disposed at one side of each of the holding plates 30, and each of the holding plates 30 has a button 34 received in the spiral channels 42 of the adjustable plate 40.
The locking disc 60 is fastened to the base 20 by the locking member 50.
The locking member 50 includes two wing portions 51, each respectively formed on two ends of the locking member 50, a plurality of locking teeth 52 and a plurality of flexible hook portions 53. At the end of each of the hook portions 53 is formed a hook 531. The locking member 50 is formed with an engaging groove 54.
The locking disc 60 includes an annular body 61 and an annular press flange 62 extending out of the annular body 61. The annular press flange 62 is formed with an engaging portion 63 which extends to the annular body 61 to form a limiting surface 631. The engaging portion 63 is formed with an engaging slot 611 for receiving the wing portions of the locking member 50. The locking member 50 is inserted through the engaging portion 63 and into the base 20 in such a manner that the locking member 50 is abutted against the limiting surface 631 with the wing portions 51 received in the engaging slot 611, the engaging portion 63 is engaged in the engaging groove 54 of the locking member 50, the hook portions 53 of the locking member 50 are inserted through the two inserting holes 24 of the base 20 and have the hooks 531 hooked to the base 20, as shown in FIG. 7. The locking teeth 52 of the locking member 50 are engaged with the engaging teeth 411 of the adjustable plate 40, the wing portions 51 are abutted against the flange 21 of the base 20, a plurality of screws 64 are provided for fastening the locking disc 60 and the base 20, and the annular press flange 62 of the locking disc 60 is pressed against the adjustable plate 40, as shown in FIGS. 8-10.
The limiting unit 70 includes a first limiting portion 71 disposed on the base 20 and a second limiting portion 72 disposed on the holding plates 30. The first and second limiting portions 71, 72 cooperate with each other to limit the holding plates 30 to move linearly. Rotating the adjustable plate 40 can drive the holding plates 30 to move linearly via the cooperation of the spiral channels 42 and the buttons 34, and then the holding plates 30 are restricted by the limiting unit 70 to perform linear movement on the base 20.
The first limiting portion 71 in this preferred embodiment takes the form of four protrusions 71A arranged in pairs in a matrix manner around the periphery of the base 20. The second limiting portion 72 takes the form of apertures 72A formed in the holding plates 30. In this embodiment, two apertures 72A are respectively located at both sides of the button 34 of each of the holding plates 30, the apertures 72A on one of the holding plates 30 are elongated apertures, and the apertures 72A on another one of the holding plates 30 are elongated or round apertures.
The first limiting portion 71 can also take the form of two opposed guiding surfaces 71B disposed on the base 20, the second limiting portion 72 can also take the form of two opposed edges 72B respectively on each of the holding plates 30 for abutting against the guiding surfaces 71B, and the semicircle edge 31 of each of the holding plates 30 have two ends connected to the opposed edges 72B.
When the apertures 72A of the holding plates 30 are engaged with the protrusions 71A of the base 20, the opposed edges 72B on each of the holding plates 30 will rest against the guiding surfaces 71B to restrict the two holding plates 30 to perform linear movement on the base 20.
When in use, as shown in FIG. 5, the buttons 34 of the holding plates 30 are located close to the first ends 421 of the spiral channels 42 of the adjustable plate 40. At this moment, the buttons 34 are located adjacent to the periphery of the central hole 41, namely, the two holding plates 30 are at the closest position to each other, and the distance between the holding portions 33 of the two holding plates 30 is the smallest. At this moment, the locking teeth 52 of the locking member 50 are engaged with the engaging teeth 411 of the adjustable plate 40 to prevent the adjustable plate 40 from rotation, and the locking member 50 and the adjustable plate 40 are in a locked position.
In order to adjust the distance between the two holding plates 30 to fit different sized electronic devices, the locking member 50 must be switched from the previous locked position to an unlocking position by applying pulling force to the engaging groove 54 of the locking member 50 to push the locking member 50 to move outward from the inner surface of the locking disc 60. When the locking member 50 moves outward, the hook portions 53 of the locking member 50 will be disengaged from the base 20 to make the locking teeth 52 disengage from the engaging teeth 411 of the adjustable plate 40, so that the adjustable plate 40 can be switched.
Since the adjustable plate 40 is now rotatable, as shown in FIG. 11, rotating the adjustable plate 40 can move the buttons 34 of the holding plates 30 from the first ends 421 toward to the second ends 422 of the spiral channels 42. The second end 422 is located further away from the periphery of the central hole 41 than the first end 421, namely, the two holding plates 30 are moving away from the central hole 41. During the movement of the holding plates 30, the protrusions 71A will cooperate with the apertures 72A, and the guiding surfaces 71B on the base 20 will cooperate with the opposed edges 72B on the holding plates 30 to make sure that the holding plates 30 can move linearly smoothly. After the holding plates 30 move to a desired position, the adjustable plate 40 can be switched to locked and non-rotatable position again by pressing down the locking member 50 to make the locking teeth 52 of the locking member 50 engage with the engaging teeth 411 of the adjustable plate 40.
Referring then to FIG. 13, another embodiment of the present invention is shown and functionally similar with the previous embodiment, wherein the adjustable plate 40 is only provided with a single spiral channel 42, the apertures 72A of one of the holding plates 30 are round apertures which are engaged with the protrusions 71A to fix the holding plate 30 with the round apertures 72A. Rotating the adjustable plate 40 can only make another holding plate 30 with the elongated apertures 72A move.
In general, the adjustable holder for electronic devices in accordance with the present invention can be easily adjusted to fit different sized electronic devices simply by rotating the adjustable plate 40 to adjust the distance between the two holding plates 30.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable holder for electronic devices comprising:

a base;

two holding plates each having two opposite holding portions for holding the electronic device, one of the holding plates being formed with a button, the holding plates being disposed at one side of the base;

an adjustable plate formed on one side thereof with at least one spiral channel, the adjustable plate being disposed at one side of each of the holding plates, and the button of the holding plates being received in the spiral channel of the adjustable plate; and

a limiting unit with a first limiting portion disposed on the base and a second limiting portion disposed on the holding plates, the first and second limiting portions cooperating with each other to limit the holding plates to move linearly, wherein rotating the adjustable plate can drive the holding plates to move by the cooperation of the spiral channel and the button, and via the limiting unit.

2. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjustable plate includes a central hole, the spiral channel includes a first end and a second end, and the second end is located further away from a periphery of the central hole than the first end.

3. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first limiting portion takes the form of protrusions on the base, the second limiting portion takes the form of apertures formed in the holding plates for engaging with the protrusions.

4. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first limiting portion takes the form of two opposed guiding surfaces on the base, the second limiting portion takes the form of two opposed edges for respectively abutting against the guiding surfaces.

5. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 3, wherein another one of the holding plates is formed with a button, two apertures are respectively located at both sides of the button of each of the holding plates, the base is provided with four protrusions arranged in pairs in a matrix manner, the adjustable plate is provided with two spiral channels, and the buttons of the holding plates are received in the spiral channels of the adjustable plate.

6. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 2, further comprises a locking member, the base is formed with two inserting holes, and the adjustable plate is provided with a plurality of engaging teeth formed on an inner surface of the central hole, wherein the locking member includes a plurality of locking teeth and a plurality of flexible hook portions, at one end of each of the hook portions is formed a hook, when the hook portions are inserted through the two inserting holes of the base and have the hooks hooked to the base, the engaging teeth of the adjustable plate are engaged with the locking teeth of the locking member.

7. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a locking member for fastening a locking disc to the base, wherein the locking member includes a plurality of locking teeth, and the locking disc includes an annular body and an annular press flange extending out of the annular body, the annular press flange is formed with an engaging portion which extends to the annular body to form a limiting surface, the locking member is inserted through the engaging portion and into the base in such a manner that the locking member is abutted against the limiting surface, the locking teeth of the locking member are engaged with a plurality of engaging teeth of the adjustable plate, wherein a plurality of screws are provided for fastening the locking disc and the base, and the press flange of the locking disc is pressed against the adjustable plate.

8. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 7, wherein the base is formed with two inserting holes, the locking member includes a plurality of flexible hook portions, at one end of each of the hook portions is formed a hook, when the hook portions are inserted through the two inserting holes of the base, the hooks hook to the base.

9. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 7, wherein the locking member includes two wing portions, each respectively formed on two ends of the locking member, the engaging portion is formed with an engaging slot for receiving the wing portions.

10. The adjustable holder for electronic devices as claimed in claim 7, wherein the locking member includes an engaging groove for engaging with the engaging portion of the locking disc.