WO2009020287A1

WO2009020287A1 - Holder for personal portable device

Info

Publication number: WO2009020287A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/003771
Authority: WO
Inventors: Suk Won Kim; Seungtack Noh; Hyo Mi Ahn
Original assignee: Thinkware Systems Corporation
Priority date: 2007-08-03
Filing date: 2008-06-28
Publication date: 2009-02-12
Also published as: KR100841908B1

Abstract

A holder for a personal portable device which can easily hold the personal portable device is provided. The holder for the personal portable device includes: a body portion supporting one side of the personal portable device; and a holding portion being elastically and movably provided against the body portion to support the other side of the personal portable device.

Description

HOLDER FOR PERSONAL PORTABLE DEVICE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a holder for a personal portable device, and more particularly, to a holder for a personal portable device which is easily capable of holding a personal portable device.

Background Art

Personal portable devices are conveniently carried and equipped with various functionalities, and are available in numerous types of different products. Many users carry personal portable devices, but there are some users who install personal portable devices in fixed locations such as on a windshield of a motorized vehicle and the like.

Thus, various holders for fixing personal portable devices are introduced in the market.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views illustrating a conventional holder for a motorized vehicle.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional holder for the motorized vehicle is fixed on an inside of a front windshield W of a motorized vehicle using vacuum pressure of a contacting member 10 to be located on a top of a panel.

The conventional holder for the motorized vehicle includes the contacting member 10, a connection supporting member 20, and a holding member 30, and the connection supporting member 20 and the holding member 30 are supported via an adhesive strength of the contacting member 10. An end of the connection supporting part 20 is provided with the holding member 30, and the holding member 30, by its physical shape and functions, may be attached with various personal portable devices such as a mobile phone, a car navigation system, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a

CD player, and the like.

Conventional holders for the motorized vehicle are fabricated in various forms depending on different types and sizes of personal portable devices. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a general method for holding a personal portable device 40 to a holder is by forming a fixing groove 42 on a rear surface of the personal portable device 40, and forming a fixing protrusion 32 in a front surface of the holding member 30 in correspondence to the fixing protrusion 32, and inserting the fixing protrusion 32 into the fixing groove 42.

Due to such a structure, to combine/separate the personal portable device 40 with/from the conventional holder, a user is required to apply forces sufficiently strong for the attachment or detachment of the fixing protrusion 32 with/from the fixing groove

42. Thus, the conventional holder is inconvenient for attachment and detachment of the personal portable device 40.

Also, the above attachment and detachment method is inconvenient to perform with a single hand, thus there occurs a problem in performing the attachment and detachment of the personal portable device 40 while conducting other activities such as driving a vehicle.

Also, since excessive forces are generally applied in the above attachment and detachment method, a personal portable device is vulnerable to damages during the process of the attachment and detachment.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Goals

In order to solve the problems of the conventional art, the present invention provides a holder for a personal portable device which enables a user to easily hold the personal portable device.

The present invention also provides a holder for a personal portable device which can easily combine/separate the personal portable device with/from the holder with a single hand without using both hands.

Technical solutions

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a holder for a personal portable device including: a body portion supporting one side of the personal portable device; and a holding portion being elastically and movably provided against the body portion to support the other side of the personal portable device.

The body portion is a component supporting at least one side. The personal portable device generally has a rectangular shape, thus the one side of the body portion may have a shape corresponding to the rectangular shape. In one end of the body portion, a supporting piece may be formed, and the supporting piece supports the one side of the personal portable device. The supporting piece side, along with a holding portion which will be described below, supports to fix the personal portable device so that the holder according to the present invention may hold the personal portable device. A single or a plurality of supporting pieces may be formed in one end of the body portion, and, depending on cases, a supporting piece may be additionally formed in the other end of the body portion. Generally, the supporting piece may be formed in a lower portion of the body portion. Also, the supporting piece may be integrally formed by cutting or bending of the one end of the body portion or may be formed separately to be combined with the body portion according to the design.

Also, the supporting portion may be mounted on the rear surface of the body portion. One end of the supporting portion is connected to the rear surface of the body portion, and the other end of the supporting portion is connected to a surface in which the holder is desirably installed. For this purpose, a suction device capable of being attached to a windshield of a motorized vehicle using a suction force may be generally provided at the other end of the supporting portion.

For references, the personal portable device in the present invention refers to a portable electronic device such as a car navigation system, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, an MP3 player, and the like. Conceptually, the personal portable device may be equipped with communication modules such as a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) module, a Blue tooth module, an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) module, a wireless Local Access Network (LAN) card, along with a microprocessor performing multimedia play function with a predetermined level of computational capabilities.

The holding portion is a component for supporting the personal portable device with the body portion. The holding portion supports an opposite surface of the one end of the personal portable device which is supported by the body portion to securely hold the personal portable device. Specifically, the hold portion is generally formed on a top of the body portion in correspondence to the supporting piece formed in the lower portion of the body portion, thereby securely fixing the personal portable device. However, a location of the holding portion is not limited to the above example, may be formed on a side surface of the body portion, and a single holding portion or a plurality of holding portions may be formed . As described above, the holder for the personal portable device according to the present invention has a configuration as follows: one side of the personal portable device is supported by the body portion and the other side of the personal portable device is supported by the holding portion. The holder for the personal portable device according to the present invention supports the two sides, facing each other, of the personal portable device in a rectangular shape, thereby fixing the personal portable device regardless of a distance between the other two sides which are not supported. The holding portion may be elastically movable against the body portion.

Specifically, when an external force is applied on the holding portion, the holding portion may be moved to an outer side of the body portion, accordingly a space where the personal portable device is capable of being inserted in is guaranteed, and when the external force is removed, the holding portion may be returned the original location due to an elastic force, which enables the inserted personal portable device may be fixed. As described above, the holding portion may be elastically movable in a vertical direction of the insertion direction of the personal portable device, and may maintain readiness for the vertical insertion of the personal portable device prior to mounting the personal portable device. The elastic member may be provided between the holding portion and the body portion to elastically move the holding portion, and due to the elastic member, the holding portion may have a tendency to move toward an inside of the body portion. In this instance, in the case the holding portion is excessively moved toward the inside of the body portion, it may be difficult to reserve a sufficient space for the insertion of the personal portable device, thus the supporting protrusion may be formed in one side of the holding portion. The supporting protrusion is provided in one side of the holding portion so that the supporting protrusion may be supported by the body portion. Accordingly, the supporting protrusion may prevent excessive movement of the holding portion to the inside of the body portion, and as a result, the holding portion may maintain readiness for the vertical insertion of the personal portable device. Also, in the above readiness for the vertical insertion of the personal portable device, a free-end of the holding portion may correspond to contact to round corner of the personal portable device. Due to such configuration, the holding portion may maintain the readiness state of the vertical insertion of the personal portable device.

The holder including the holding portion with such configuration structure may easily hold the personal portable device. That is, a user may complete holding of the personal portable device by smoothly pushing the other end of the personal portable device to the body portion while one side of the personal portable device is supported by a supporting piece of the body portion.

Also, a portion which supports the one end of the personal portable device in the holding portion may be fabricated of a rubber such as urethane rubber. For this purpose, a portion of the holding portion may be fabricated of a rubber material, or an anti-sliding member made of a rubber may be additionally applied to the holding portion. In this instance, the above mentioned material is not limited to a rubber, and any materials which can prevent sliding of the personal portable device and can enables the holding portion to securely fix one side of the personal portable device. Through such configuration, the holder for the personal portable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can securely fix the personal portable device, and prevent from damages of the personal portable device during attachment/detachment process of the personal portable device.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily hold a personal portable device with a single hand since a holding portion is elastically and movably provided against a body portion, and the holding potion is capable of moving to an inside/outside of the body portion depending on an applied external force. According to the present invention, it is possible to maintain a readiness state for vertical entrance of a personal portable device since a supporting protrusion is provided on one side of a holding portion, and a free-end of the holding portion contacts a corresponding round corner of the personal portable device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to securely fix a personal portable device and prevent the personal portable device from becoming damaged during a process of attaching/detaching the personal portable device since a portion of a holding portion of the holder for the personal portable device is fabricated of a rubber. Brief Description of Drawings

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views illustrating a holder for a personal portable device in a motor vehicle according to a conventional art; FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a lateral view illustrating a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a rear view illustrating a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a connection state between a holding portion and a body portion in a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views illustrating a state that a personal portable device is held in a holder according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a supporting portion which supports a rear surface of a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, however the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. For reference, like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout, under this rules, it may be possible to describe drawings by referring to the contents described in other drawings, and repeated contents or contents which is determined to be obvious to a person in the art may be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram illustrating a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a lateral view illustrating a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a rear view illustrating a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a connection state between a holding portion and a body portion in a holder for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 6, the holder 100 for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body portion 110 and the holding portion 130.

The body portion 110 is a configuration element for supporting at least one side of the personal portable device. The body portion 110 is generally fabricated in a rectangular shape in correspondence to a rear surface of the personal portable device, and a supporting piece 112 for supporting one side of the personal portable device is formed on one end of the body portion 110. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting piece 112 may be formed in both sides of the lower portion of the body portion 110 as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this instance, a number of supporting pieces and locations of the supporting pieces are not limited to the above, for example, a single supporting piece or a plurality of supporting pieces may be formed in lower portions of the body portion 110, and depending on circumstances, supporting pieces may be formed in lateral sides of the body portion 110.

The holding portion 130 is a configuration element for supporting the personal portable device with the body portion 110. In the present embodiment, the holding portion 130 may be located in upper portions of the body portion 110 in correspondence to the supporting piece 112 formed in the lower portions of the body portion 110. However, locations of the holding portion 130 are not limited to the above, for example, when the supporting piece is formed in a lateral side of the body portion 110, the holding portion 130 may be formed in another side of the body portion 110 facing another side of the body portion 110. In the holding portion 130, a portion which supports the upper portion of the personal portable device may be fabricated of a rubber such as urethane rubber. For this purpose, the portion of the holding portion 130 may be fabricated of a rubber, or an anti-sliding member made of a rubber may be additionally applied to the holding portion 130. However, the above mentioned material is not limited to a rubber, and the applied material for the holding portion 130 may be any material which can prevent the personal portable device from sliding and enables the holding portion 130 to securely fix the personal portable device. As described above, the holder 100 for the personal portable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may securely fix the personal portable device, and prevent the personal portable device from becoming damaged during the attachment and detachment process of the personal portable device. As stated above, in the present embodiment of the present invention, the lower portion of the personal portable device is supported by the supporting piece 112, and the upper portion of the personal portable device is supported by the holding portion 130. In such configuration, the holder 100 for the personal portable device supports two sides, facing each other, of the personal portable device in a rectangular shape, thereby fixing the personal portable device regardless of a distance between the other unsupported two sides of the personal portable device.

Also, the holding portion 130 may be fabricated in a form which wraps one side of the personal portable device. The holding portion 130 may be fabricated having a smooth oval shaped cross section. Through such structure, the holding portion 130 can securely fix the upper portion of the personal portable device regardless of a cross sectional shape of the upper portion of the personal portable device. In summary, a cross section of the personal portable device may be formed in various shapes, however since the holding portion 130 of the holder 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is capable of fixing the upper portion of the personal portable device and a certain portion of the upper front surface of the personal portable device, the holding portion 130 of the holder 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may securely fix regardless of the shape of the cross section of the upper portion of the personal portable device.

By referring to FIGS. 4 through 6, operational states of a holder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

A holding portion 130 is capable of elastically movable against a body portion 110. When an external force is applied onto the holding portion 130, the holding portion 130 may be moved to an outside of the body portion 110, accordingly a space for a personal portable device 180 to insert is guaranteed, and when the applied force is removed, the holding portion 130 returns to the original position by an elastic force, consequently the inserted personal portable device may be fixed. As illustrated in FIG. 4, with a lower portion of the personal portable device 180 being supported by a supporting piece 112 of the body portion 110, when the personal portable device 180 is inserted toward a © direction of the body portion 110, the holding portion 130 may be moved to an upper direction of ©, a vertical direction of an entering direction of the personal portable device 180, consequently the personal portable device 180 may be inserted toward the body portion 110. After the personal portable device 180 is entered, the holding portion 130 may return back to the original position of ® by an elastic force, thereby fixing the upper portion of the inserted personal portable device. Also, in order to enable the holding portion 130 to smoothly move, the holding portion 130 may be rotatably combined with the body portion 110 via a fixing pin 140. Referring back to FIG. 3, as the holding portion 130 is combined with the body portion 110 via the fixing pin 140, when an external force is applied onto the holding portion 130, the holding portion 130 may smoothly move to an upper direction having the fixing pin 140 as an axis.

As described above, the holding portion 130 is elastically movable to the vertical direction of the entering direction of the personal portable device 180, and a readiness state for vertical entrance of the personal portable device 180 may be maintained prior to mounting the personal portable device 180. Through such structure of the holding portion 130, the holder 100 according to the present invention may easily hold the personal portable device 180 with a single hand. That is, a user may complete the holding of the personal portable device 180 by easily pushing the upper portion of the personal portable device 180 toward the body portion 110 with the lower portion of the personal portable device 180 being supported by the supporting piece 112 of the body portion 110.

As described above, in order to enable the holding portion 130 to have a tendency to move to an inside of the body portion 110, an elastic member may be additionally provided between the holding portion 130 and the body portion 110. Referring back to FIG. 3, the elastic member according to the present embodiment includes a torsion spring 150 and may be provide in both sides of the holding portion 130. However, types and locations of the elastic member are not limited to the present embodiment and may be various selected depending on design specifications.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, to receive the torsion spring 150, a first receiving groove 132 is formed in the holding portion 130 to receive one end of the torsion spring 150, and a second receiving groove 115 is formed in the body portion 110 to receive the other end of the torsion spring 150. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the other end of the torsion spring 150 is received in the second receiving groove 115 to be supported by the body portion 110, and one end of the torsion spring 150 is received in the first receiving groove 132 to support the holding portion 130, consequently enables the holding portion 130 to have the tendency to move to the inside of the body portion 110. Accordingly, after the holding portion 130 is moved to the upper direction by an external force, when the external force is removed, the holding portion 130 can return back to the original position. However, when the holding portion 130 is excessively moved to the inside of the body portion 110 by the above returning force, vertical entrance of the personal portable device 180 may be hindered. To prevent this hindrance, a supporting protrusion 136 may be provided in one side of a holding portion. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the supporting protrusion 136 is received in the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 formed in the body portion 110 to be supported by the body portion 110, thereby preventing the holding portion 130 from excessively moving to the inside of the body portion 110. In this instance, depths of the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 may differ depending on degrees required for the vertical insertion of the personal portable device 180, otherwise the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 may not be formed. That is, when the holding portion 130 moves further into the inside the body portion 110, it is preferable to form the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 deeper in the case the vertical entrance of the personal portable device is easy, and when the holding portion 130 moves less into the inside the body portion 110, it is preferable to form the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 shallower or not to form the supporting protrusion receiving groove 116 at all in the case the vertical entrance of the personal portable device. Also, a free-end of the holding portion 130 may correspond to a round corner of the personal portable device 180 to contact the round corner of the personal portable device at the state the vertical entrance of the personal portable device 180 is possible. Consequently, the holder 100 according to the present embodiment of the present invention further includes the supporting protrusion 136, and the free-end of the holding portion 130 corresponds to the round corner of the personal portable device 180 to contact the round corner of the personal portable device at the state the vertical entrance of the personal portable device 180 is possible, thereby maintaining a readiness state for the vertical entrance of the personal portable device 180.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective diagrams illustrating a state that a personal portable device 180 is held in a holder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the holder 100 for the personal portable device according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention may hold the personal portable device 180 via a holding portion 130 and a body portion 110, and may maintain the holding state after the holding.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 8, to increase user conveniences when using the personal portable device 180, a receiving hole 117 may be formed in a rear surface of the body portion 110 of the present invention to receive a touch screen pen 160. The receiving hole 117 includes an upper receiving hole 118 and a lower receiving hole 119. The lower receiving hole 119 is formed in a lower portion of the body portion 110 to receive one end of the touch screen pen 160, and the upper receiving hole 118 is formed in an upper portion of the body portion 110 to fix and support the touch screen pen 160. A user may easily store the touch screen pen 160 in the holder 100 by inserting the touch screen pen 160 into the receiving hole 117 through the upper receiving hole 118. FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a supporting portion 170 which supports a rear surface of a holder 100 for a personal portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the holder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include the supporting portion 170. The supporting portion 170 is a configuration element which is mounted on a rear surface of the body portion 110 to support the rear surface of the body portion 110. Specifically, one end of the supporting portion 170 is fixed to the rear surface of the body portion 110, and the other end of the supporting portion 170 is fixed to a surface in which the holder 100 is desirably fixed. For this purpose, a suction portion 172 using a suction plate may be formed in the other end of the supporting portion 170. The suction portion 172 may be attached to a surface such as a windshield of a motorized vehicle using a vacuum pressure of the suctioning plate. However, a configuration of the suctioning portion 172 is not limited to the above embodiment, and can have a configuration that the suction portion 172 is attached to an attachment surface using an adhesive material without the suctioning plate.

Also, to fix the supporting portion 170 and the body portion 110, a fixing protrusion 174 may be formed in one end of the supporting portion 170, and a fixing groove 114 may be formed in a rear surface of the body portion 110 to receive the fixing protrusion 174. By inserting the fixing protrusion 174 of the supporting portion 170 into the fixing groove 114 on the rear surface of the body portion 110, the body portion 110 may be easily combined with the supporting portion 170. Through this, a user may easily attach/detach the holder 100 according to the present embodiment to the desired location to/from a desired location.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A holder for a personal portable device, the holder comprising: a body portion supporting one side of the personal portable device; and a holding portion being elastically and movably provided against the body portion to support the other side of the personal portable device.

2. The holder of claim 1, wherein the holding portion is capable of elastically movable in a vertical direction of an entrance direction of the personal portable device, and maintains a state that the personal portable device is capable of vertically entered prior to mounting the personal portable device.

3. The holder of claim 2, wherein, in one side of the holding portion, a supporting protrusion is provided, the supporting protrusion is supported by the body portion, the holding portion maintains the state that the personal portable device is capable of being vertically entered, and a free-end of the holding portion corresponds to a round corner of the personal portable device to contact the round corner of the personal portable device at the state.

4. The holder of claim 1, wherein the holding portion is formed in a shape of wrapping the other side of the personal portable device to fix the personal portable device.

5. The holder of claim 1, wherein, in the holding portion, a portion supporting the other side of the personal portable device is fabricated of a rubber.

6. The holder of claim 1 , further comprises: an elastic member being provided between the holding portion and the body portion so that the holding portion has tendency to move an inside of the body portion.

7. The holder of claim 6, wherein the elastic member comprises a torsion spring, a first receiving groove is formed in the holding portion to receive one end of the torsion spring, and a second receiving groove is formed in the body portion to receive the other end of the torsion spring.

8. The holder of claim 1, wherein the holding portion is rotatably combined with the body portion via a fixing pin.

9. The holder of claim 1, wherein, in a rear surface of the body portion, a receiving hole receiving a touch screen pen is formed.

10. The holder of claim 1, further comprises a supporting part which is mounted on the rear surface of the body portion to support the rear surface of the body portion, a fixing protrusion is formed on one side of the supporting part, a fixing groove receiving the fixing protrusion is formed in correspondence to the fixing protrusion, and the fixing protrusion is inserted along the fixing groove so that the supporting part is mounted on the rear surface of the body portion.