Securing arrangement for a mobile device

Abstract

A securing arrangement for a portable electronic device comprises a wrist receiving loop a first end of which is permanently coupled to a first location on the device and an anchoring member coupled to a second end of the wrist receiving loop in combination with a coupling member including a first anchoring loop coupled to the device at a second location separated from the first location, the first anchoring loop and the wrist receiving loop being sized so that the anchoring loop may be passed over the anchoring member to releasably couple the securing arrangement in a first configuration.

Description

BACKGROUND

Over time, mobile computing devices have become more heavily relied on by businesses and are being used in an increasing number of applications. Many of these applications require an employee to use the device, in certain situations, using one hand and, in other situations, using two hands or grasping the device differently in one hand, etc. At the same time, it is important that the device be securable to the employees hand or in a convenient location on the body so that the device is protected from falls and readily available for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a securing arrangement for a portable electronic device comprising a wrist receiving loop a first end of which is permanently coupled to a first location on the device and an anchoring member coupled to a second end of the wrist receiving loop in combination with a coupling member including a first anchoring loop coupled to the device at a second location separated from the first location, the first anchoring loop and the wrist receiving loop being sized so that the first anchoring loop may be passed over the anchoring member to releasably couple the securing arrangement in a first configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an outer wrist pad of a securing arrangement according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the outer wrist pad of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a connecting button of the securing arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a back of a mobile device with a securing arrangement according to the invention attached thereto;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the mobile device of FIG. 4 with the securing arrangement thereof in a first configuration;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view the mobile device of FIG. 4 from an opposite side thereof with the securing arrangement in the first configuration;

FIG. 7 shows a front view of the mobile device of FIG. 4 with the securing arrangement in the first configuration;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the mobile device of FIG. 4 with the securing arrangement in a second configuration;

FIG. 9 shows a side view of an outer wrist pad of a securing arrangement according to a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 shows a front view of a button according to a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The present invention will be described in regard to a securing arrangement for a personal digital assistant (“PDA”). However, those skilled in the art will understand that the securing arrangement according to the present invention is equally suited for any mobile electronic device such as, for example, a barcode scanner, a cellular telephone, blackberry, digital music player, etc., requiring a securing member which allows the device to be held in a variety of positions.

As shown in FIGS. 1-8, a securing arrangement 10 includes a flexible connection member 12 one end of which is coupled to a back of a mobile device 14 while the other end is coupled to a wrist receiving loop 15 formed of an outer wrist pad 16 and an inner wrist pad 20. Those skilled in the art will understand that the flexible connection member 12 is preferably formed of a sturdy material such as, for example, canvas or nylon and is attached to the mobile device 14 by, for example, wrapping around an anchoring member in a housing 18 of the mobile device 14. Although the other end of the flexible connection member 12 is shown coupled to one end of the outer wrist pad 16 by stitching, those skilled in the art will understand that the flexible connection member may be coupled to any portion of the outer wrist pad 16 by, for example, mechanical means such as rivets, adhesive or any other method producing a suitably strong bond. An inner wrist pad 20 is coupled to each end of the outer wrist pad 16 by mechanical means such as rivets, stitching, adhesive, or any other sufficiently strong attachment to form a loop through which an user of the mobile device 14 may insert his or her hand. Alternatively, one end of the inner wrist pad 20 may be coupled directly to the flexible connection member 12 or to both the outer wrist pad 16 and the flexible connection member 12. The inner wrist pad 20 is preferably formed of a material such as, for example, elastic which is stretchable longitudinally while the outer wrist pad 16 may be formed, for example, of leather, plastic or other suitable, substantially inelastic material.

In addition, a first lanyard 22 is coupled to the end of the outer wrist pad 16 opposite the end connected to the flexible connection member 12 and extends outward therefrom. The first lanyard 22 forms a loop 24 with opposite sides of the loop 24 passing through eyes 26 of a button 28 as shown in FIG. 3. An end of the first lanyard 22 is preferably received within the outer wrist pad 16 so that an outer surface of the outer wrist pad 16 remains substantially smooth. As seen in FIG. 2, the thickness of the outer wrist pad 16 increases near the end in which the first lanyard 22 is received.

As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mobile device 14 includes a second lanyard 30 and an optional third lanyard 32 mounted to a pistol grip 34 of the mobile device 14. For example, the second lanyard 30 may be mounted to a rear surface of the pistol grip 34 adjacent to a lower end 36 thereof by, for example, passing a first loop 38 of the second lanyard 30 around a bar and passing the second lanyard 30 back through the loop 38. In a first configuration shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second lanyard 30 is coupled to the first lanyard 22 by slipping a second loop 40 of the second lanyard 30 over the button 28. In this configuration, the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20, respectively, is coupled to both the back of the mobile device 14 and to a lower end of the pistol grip 34. In this configuration the device 14 is held in a ready position for use of the pistol grip 34, for example, to operate a trigger 35 which actuates a scanner 37 or other accessory of the device 14. The third lanyard 32 which may, for example, be coupled to a stylus (not shown) removably received within the pistol grip 34, may be used to removably secure the stylus to the mobile device 14. That is, the third lanyard 32 may be slipped over the button 28 so that if dropped, for example, the stylus will not be lost.

As shown in FIG. 5, the button 28 of the preferred embodiment is substantially elliptical with a major axis of the button 28 extending substantially perpendicular to the first lanyard 22. Thus, the user can easily disengage the button 28 from the second loop 40 of the second lanyard 30 by rotating the button 28 so that the major axis of the button 28 aligns with the second lanyard 30 with a narrow end 29 of the button 28 entering the second loop 40 to disengage the button 28 and the second lanyard 30. For example, in one embodiment the button 28 has a major axis between 1.4 and 1.5 times the length of its minor axis. More specifically, in one preferred embodiment the button 28 may have a major axis of 0.8 to 0.95 inches and a minor axis of 0.5 to 0.7 inches.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the button 28 may be of any shape and may be replaced by any rigid structure which may be slipped through an opening in a line tethered to the pistol grip 34 or any other structure of a mobile device which orients the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20 into a desired configuration. For example, any rigid structure suitable for anchoring a loop which is slipped therearound may be used. Such an anchoring structure may, for example, include lateral projections extending from a central member so that, when a loop is slipped over the lateral projections, the loop pulls against the central member and is maintained in that position.

In use, a user inserts his hand between the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20, respectively, to grasp the pistol grip 34. Thus, when the pistol grip 34 is released by the user of the device 14, the pistol grip 34 is maintained accessible to the user's hand even if the user is performing another task with that hand. Thus, when the task is finished, the user can re-grip the pistol grip 34 without using his other hand. Of course, in the first configuration as well as the second configuration described below, the device is also protected from falls at all times as, upon release of the pistol grip 34, the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20, respectively, is retained on the user's wrist.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the mobile device 14 with the securing arrangement 10 in a second configuration. In the second configuration, the user has pushed the button 28 out of the second loop 40 of the second lanyard 30 to release the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20, respectively, is released from the pistol grip 34 so that the mobile device 14 can rotate about the point at which the flexible connection member 12 is coupled to the housing 18 of the device 14. In this configuration, the user can grasp the rearward extending keyboard portion 42 of the device 14 for one handed operation thereof. The user can then return the device 14 to the first configuration by simply slipping the button 28 back into the second loop 40 of the second lanyard 30.

In addition, the button 28, or another component of the securing arrangement 10 may be made to fail at a predetermined force level to provide a release for the securing arrangement 10 if, for example, the device 14 or part of the securing arrangement 10 becomes caught in machinery, etc. Specifically, a member 27 separating the eyes 26 may be designed to fail and release the second lanyard 30 there from when subjected to a force above a threshold level selected to avoid injury to the user. Alternatively, the flexible connection member 12 or the second lanyard 30 may be made to fail when subjected to a force in the same range.

As shown in FIG. 9, an outer wrist pad 16′ according to a second embodiment of the invention includes a more robust connection between the first lanyard 22 and the outer wrist pad 16′ with a latch 44 surrounding the first lanyard 22 and the end of the outer wrist pad 16′. Those skilled in the art will understand that the button 28 or other anchoring structure need not be coupled to the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20 by a lanyard as described above. It is only necessary that the button 28 or other anchoring structure be securely fastened to this loop. Furthermore, any or both of the second and third lanyards 30, 32, respectively, may be replaced by any sufficiently sturdy loop of material. Preferably both of these loops will be formed of flexible material so that the loop formed by the outer and inner wrist pads 16, 20 may move relative to the device 14.

FIG. 10 shows a button 28′ according to a further embodiment of the invention. The button 28′ functions substantially similarly to the button 28 except that the eyes 26′ of the button 28′ are not completely separated from one another. Rather, the eyes 26′ are joined by a thin channel 31′ which extends between opposed ends of a separating member 27′ of the button 28′. Those skilled in the are will understand that the size of the channel 31′ and the thickness of the second lanyard 30 are selected relative to one another based on a resilience of the material of which the button 26′ is formed so that the second lanyard 30 will not be pulled through the channel 31′ until the desired force level is reached.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the structure and the methodology of the present invention, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A securing arrangement for a portable electronic device comprising:

a wrist receiving loop a first end of which is permanently coupled to a first location on the device;

an anchoring member coupled to a second end of the wrist receiving loop; and

a coupling member including a first anchoring loop coupled to the device at a second location separated from the first location, the first anchoring loop and the wrist receiving loop being sized so that the first anchoring loop may be passed over the anchoring member to releasably couple the securing arrangement in a first configuration.

2. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first end of the wrist receiving loop is coupled to the device via a flexible connection member.

3. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein a first side of the wrist receiving loop is formed of a substantially inelastic member and a second side of the wrist receiving loop is formed of a longitudinally stretchable member.

4. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein the anchoring member is coupled to the wrist receiving loop via a lanyard.

5. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein the anchoring member is rigid and projects outward from a center coupled to the wrist receiving loop.

6. The securing arrangement of claim 5, wherein the anchoring member is formed as a button.

7. The securing arrangement of claim 6, wherein the button extends further from the center in a first direction substantially perpendicular to a length of the wrist receiving loop than in a second direction substantially parallel to the length of the wrist receiving loop.

8. The securing arrangement of claim 6, wherein the button is coupled to the wrist receiving loop via a lanyard and wherein a loop of the lanyard extends through eyes of the button.

9. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein, when the anchoring loop is received around the anchoring member in the first configuration, application of a tension of a predetermined magnitude or greater causes the anchoring member to fail, releasing the securing arrangement from the first configuration to a second configuration.

10. The securing arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a second anchoring loop coupled to the device at a third location separated from the first and second locations, the third anchoring loop and the wrist receiving loop being sized so that the third anchoring loop may be passed over the anchoring member to releasably couple the securing arrangement in a third configuration.

11. The securing arrangement of claim 1, wherein the device has a pistol grip extending from a base and the first location is at a back of the base and the second location is near an end of the pistol grip furthest from the base.

12. The securing arrangement of claim 7, wherein the button is substantially elliptical with a major axis of the button extending substantially perpendicular to the length of the wrist receiving loop.