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DEVICE MADE OF PLASΗC MATERIAL FOR MOBILE FIXATION OF CELLULAR TELEPHONES BY MEANS OF MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
The invention concerns accessories for cellular telephones in general.
15 Means for moveably fixing cellular telephones to a base, especially to the structure of an automobile, are already known.
These means substantially consist of a small discoid magnate with adhesive on one face provided by a sheet with adhesive on both sides. The adhesive-coated face of the magnet is fixed to the supporting body
20 while the other face creates magnetic attraction on the phone that should be sufficient to hold it firmly in place.
Although valid in theory, fixation by magnetic attraction is in fact precarious and inadequate, so that the telephone can easily move on and around any support provided by the permanent magnet.
25 Though extremely simple in structure, the subject device assures stability, partly due to greater magnetic attraction and a larger area of adhesive, stability able to withstand accidental shocks but at the same time permits the user to pick the phone up easily, as will now be explained. Subject of the disclosure is a device for a moveable fixng means formed
30 of permanent magnets and of a double-sided adhesive sheet, to fix cellular telephones in general to any mobile solid body, especially motor vehicles, or immobile, comprising at least one suitable fixing surface. Said device presents a thin flat body of elastic material that comprises:
- two parallel parts on the front plane, orthoganal to it, that will make contact with the body of the phone, one on either side of said plane;
- a first flat depressed area on the rear plane, said area's width being slightly less than said plane and of a depth substantially correspond- ing to the thickness of the double-sided adhesive without its protective cover;
- a second central flat area on the rear plane, lower than that of the first depressed area, whose width and depth are the same as those of the permanent magnets. By fitting the permanent magnets into the central area of the rear plane of the device, applying the double-sided adhesive to the first depressed area and removing the protective covering from said double-sided adhesive, the device can be placed on the suitable surface of the solid body thus permanently fixing the device on said body and moveably stabilizing, by magnetic attraction, the cellular telephone protected by the raised parts one on each side.
In one type of execution the body of the device and the first depressed area are substantially quadrangular. Width and depth of the second central depressed area respectively correspond to the width and thickness of the magnet.
In a preferred type of execution the second central depressed area in the rear plane is circular and is surrounded by a ring concentric with the shallower plane of said central area but lower than the plane of the first depressed area. Said ring is surrounded by an annular groove whose depth is measured in tenths of an mm.
The device also comprises a discoid lamination, the thickness of which corresponds to the difference in level between the plane of the first depressed area, in relation to the rear plane of the device, and the plane of the ring that surrounds the central area, on which there is a rim whose dimensions and degree of projection respectively correspond to the dimensions and depth of the above annular groove. By applying the permanent magnet to the central depressed area and
applying to said ring said lamination whose edge penetrates inside the groove, the geometrical plane corresponding to the external surface of said lamination can be made to coincide with the plane of the first depressed area, thus increasing the power and extension of attraction by the permanent magnet.
In one advantageous type of execution, in the central area of the front surface of the device there is a series of annular concentric grooves, of different radii; these increase elasticity of said central area, favouring magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet and the cellular telephone.
The position of the last-but-one annular groove, starting from the centre, corresponds to that of the annular channel made in the rear plane; thus further reducing the thickness of the material at said channel and therefore greatly increasing elasticity of the device at the lamination. The device is preferably made of a single piece of rubber.
In one type of execution amplitude of the first depressed area on the rear plane is greater than 16 cm2 so as to permit application of a sheet with adhesive on both sides of a size equal to or greater than 16 cm2. The invention offers evident advantages. The shape and component parts of the elastic body, formed as described above, premits presentation of a large adhesive surface, consisting of the area of the two-sided adhesive sheet, that removes any risk of accidental detachment. Though small in diameter, the magnetic disk placed in the centre of the device considerably extends the area of attraction due to the effect produced by the discoid lamination superimposed on said magnetic disk. Since both the magnetic disk and the lamination are applied to a central area of the device, highly elastic due to its being so thin especially at the annular chanel and grooves already mentioned, magnetic adherence between the telephone and the unit, consisting of the permanent magent and discoid lamination, is very strong.
Combined action of the lateral raised sides with magnetic attraction ensures stability of the cellular telephone until the user wants to pick it up.
Characteristics and purposes of the disclosure will be made still clearer by the following examples of its execution illustrated by diagrammatically drawn figures.
Fig. 1 A front perspective view of the device from above. Fig. 2 A rear perspective view of the device from above.
Fig. 3 The device in an exploded perspective , cross section of details.
Fig. 4 The device mounted on the dashboard of a car, with the cellular telephone.
The device 10 comprises the body 15 made in a single piece substantial- ly rectangular in shape, with two orthogonal pieces 18 on the shorter sides.
The longer sides 16 are convex in shape.
In the rear plane 17 there is a substantially rectangular depressed area
19 slightly smaller than said plane 17, whose depth corresponds to the thickness of a rectangular sheet 25 with adhesive on both sides, after deducting the thickness of the protective covering 30.
This sheet has two adhesive faces 26 and 27.
In the rear plane 17 there is also a central circular cavity 20, at a level lower than that of the quadrangular area 19, said cavity being surrounded by a ring 21 .
Said ring 21 is in turn surrounded by an annular channel 22.
A number of concentric circular grooves 23 are made in the front plane
24 of the device.
The last-but-one 23' of these grooves, starting from the centre, lies at the position of the annular channel 22 made in the rear plane.
The thickness 28 of the material between said groove 23' and said annular channel 22 is therefore very slight and this greatly increases elasticity of the central depressed area 20.
The device also comprises a lamination 32 with a raised edge 33. Diameter of said lamination corresponds to the diameter of the annular channel 22 and, similarly, the height of the edge 33 corresponds to the depth of said annular channel.
Depth of the central depressed area 20, in relation to the surface of the
ring 21 , substantially corresponds to thickness of the discoid magnet 35. The difference in level between the surface of the ring 21 and that of the quadrangular depressed area 19 substantially corresponds to thickness of the lamination 32. As Figure 3 clearly shows, the discoid-shaped permanent magnet 35 can be placed in the central depressed area 20 and the lamination 32 laid over it with its edges 33 pressed inside the annular channel 22. In this way the upper surface of said lamination will be tangential to a geometrical plane passing through the quadrangular depressed area 19 that surrounds said lamination.
As the thickness of the double adhesive sheet 25, without its cover 20, is the same as the depth of the quadrangular depressed area 19, when said adhesive sheet is placed on said area 19 and the cover 30 removed, the upper geometrical plane of said adhesive sheet corresponds to the upper geometrical plane passing through the rear plane of the body 10. On applying the above device to a suitable surface area of a supporting body such as area 43 of the dashboard of the car 42, said device will adhere perfectly to said surface due to the force created by the adhesive layer 27. On placing the cellular telephone 40 on the front plane 24 of said device, magnetic attraction between the metal of the telephone and the permanent magnet 35 is sufficient to hold the telephone securely, reinforced by the protection given by the lateral sides 18. The permanent magnet is substantially adherent to the cellular phone considering how thin the front plane 24 is at the position of the central depressed area 20 and also allowing for the grooves 23 and 23' and the annular channel 22.
Clearly, when the user wants to pick the telephone up, this is easily done as a lever arm is created between the end of the phone and the central area possessing the magnetic force of the device 10 described.