Cell phone and personal electronics support system

Abstract

A personal device mounting system comprising a first and second disc that can snap together over a piece of fabric, such as a shirt, to hold a personal device in place. A mounting system for a personal device comprising a rigid mounting disc having at least one mount ring on a back surface thereof, the mounting disc having an attachment device on a front surface thereof. A flexible deformable backer disc having at least one backer ring on a backer disc front face. When the mounting disc back face is aligned and placed against the backer disc front face, with the mount ring and the backer ring in concentric relationship, the backer ring and mount ring will interfere and prevent the backer ring from sliding past the mount ring until a first force is applied to the mount disc and backer disc, and wherein once the mount disc and the backer disc are forced together a surface on the mount ring and a surface on the backer disc will interfere and prevent the mount disc and the backer from coming apart until a separation force is applied to the mount disc and backer disc, wherein under a second force greater than said first force the mount disc and backer disc can be snapped together over a layer of fabric and the mount disc and backer disc will grip and stay on the fabric allowing devices to be attached to the fabric.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to provisional application 61/338,730 filed Feb. 23, 2010 for Cell phone and personal electronics support system.

STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to clothing and to the use of cellular phones and other items of personal electronics.

2. Brief Description of Prior Art.

Cell phones and other items of personal electronics like music players have become very popular and are used by millions of people. A common problem is with the portability and use of the cell phone. It is common for people to put cell phones in their pockets and it is very difficult to retrieve the phone to answer it. Also during a long conversation it becomes difficult to support the phone by the ear. People prefer a hands free arrangement. Various arrangements have been used to hold the cell phone on a person. Patent application 2006/0124675 discloses a cell phone arm band for use when jogging. This is useful for jogging but the arm is not the most convenient place to carry a cell phone. The band would also not be very good for use with a long sleeve shirt.

Patent application 2008/0010715 discloses another arrangement that is basically a half vest used for carrying several items.

It is also common practice to clip a phone or part of a phone to the ear of a user. Patent application 2008/0010883 discloses a stick anywhere pocket that can be used to carry personal items like a cell phone. The problem with this idea is that cell phones get down in a pocket and are difficult to retrieve. The stick anywhere pocket is not an attractive solution.

As can be seen, there is a need for an improved method of carrying and storing a cell phone and other personal devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A mounting system comprising a loop pile arrangement including a first strip of pile material attached to the shoulder of a shirt near a neck collar and a second strip of pile material adjacent said first strip. A first strip of loop material adhesively attached to the back of the phone near the top of the phone and a second strip of loop pile material adhesively attached to the back of the cell phone near the bottom of the phone. The arrangement allows a cell phone to be attached to the upper shoulder area of a shirt where it can easily be found and used.

A mounting system that includes a mounting ring having a first portion of a loop pile fastener. A loop pile fastener second portion attachable to a device to be carried. A second ring attachable to the first ring by flexible ring clips. The flexible ring clips being sufficiently flexible to allow a layer of cloth material to be inserted between the ring clips such that the ring clips grip the cloth material and can thereby hold the device to the cloth item where the cloth item might be a shirt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the mounting system partially installed on a shirt,

FIG. 2 shows the system installed on a shirt and carrying a cell phone,

FIG. 3 shows the device installed on the back of a cell phone;

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the device with a cell phone installed on a shirt;

FIG. 5 shows a view of the backing ring,

FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the backing ring of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a view of the mounting ring,

FIG. 8 shows a cross sectional view of the mounting ring of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 shows an alternate embodiment with part of the system installed.

FIG. 10 shows close up of the apparatus of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows the alternate embodiment installed and ready for use,

FIG. 12 shows a second alternate embodiment,

FIG. 13 shows an alternate patch,

FIG. 14 shows an additional alternate embodiment,

FIG. 15 shows details of the patch of FIG. 14,

FIG. 16 shows a further alternate embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a personal mounting device 100 attached to the shoulder area of a shirt S. The personal mounting device 100 includes a patch of loop/pile fastener material 102 on its face. Ideally the fastener 102 would be the pile side of a loop pile fastener (also called a hook and loop fastener) as the pile side is less likely to collect lint.

FIG. 2 shows a cell phone C attached to the mounting system device 100 such that the cell phone C is now mounted to the shoulder area of the shirt. Research has shown that the shoulder area is a very desirable location to mount an item of personal electronics because it is easy to reach and because the weight of the device tends to partially rest on the shoulder which makes the item more stable while a person wearing the phone C is walking or running for example.

FIG. 3 shows the mounting system device 100 attached, such as by adhesive, to the back of a cell phone C. The device 100 would work on any personal item including a wallet, MP3 player, name plate, pill case, pouch, phone, or jewelry for example. The mounting system device 100 includes a mounting disc 301 and a backer disc 303 that can be placed together as shown and will stay together loosely. The cell phone C has a disc of loop material 305 adhesively attached to the back of the phone C. The mounting disc 301 includes a disc of pile material 102 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). The pile material 102 adhesively attaches to the mounting disc 301. Although shown with loop pile fasteners it will be understood that the mounting system 100 could carry a clip or magnet that devices would be attached to.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the mounting system device 100 in use with a cell phone C. The cell phone C has loop material 305 attached to the phone C. The loop material 305 engages pile material 102 that is adhesively attached to the mounting disc 301. The mounting disc 301 is attached to the backer disc 303 but a layer of fabric from shirt S is sandwiched between the mount disc 301 and backer disc 303.

FIG. 5 shows a view of the mounting disc 301, and FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the same disc 301. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 the mounting ring 301 includes a recess 501 (FIG. 6) that allows adhesive pile material 102 to be place there in. The recess 501 protects the edges of the pile material 102 and creates a more attractive look. The recess 501 includes an opening 503 that allows air to escape as the pile material 102 is placed in the recess 501 and would allow the material 102 to be pushed out of the recess 501 if it ever needed to be replaced. The mounting disc 301 includes a finger grip 505 around its outer circumference to aid in removal of the disc 301 from a shirt. The mounting disc 301 includes an outer grip ring 507 and an inner grip ring 509 surrounding a circumferential opening 511. The inner and outer grip rings 507, 509 include a circumferential tooth shape supported on a support ring 515. The grip ring 507 includes a sloped face 520 that aids the mount and backer discs 301, 303 in coming together. Once the mount and backer discs 301, 303 are together the grip ring 507 snaps back to the shape shown in FIG. 6. The grip ring 507 includes a flat back surface 540, this flat surface 540 makes the mounting disc 301 and backer disc 303 harder to get apart then they were to put together. Similarly the inner grip ring 509 includes a sloping face 522 and a inner support ring 530 and flat back surface.

FIG. 7 is a view of the backer disc 303 and FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the same backer disc 303. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the backer disc 303 includes an inner grip ring 701 and an outer grip ring 703. The grip rings 701 and 703 include a flat surface 705, 707 under the grip ring 701,703. The backer disc 303 is made from a more flexible material than the mount disc 301, so that as the mount and backer disc 301,303 are forced together the backer disc 303 deforms as shown in FIG. 9 so that the grip rings 701,703 can slide past the grip rings 507,509 of the mount disc 301. The ease with which the mounting disc 301 and backer disc 303 go together is controlled primarily by the thickness of the circumferential inner support 711 and circumferential outer support 713. These supports 711,713 flex as shown in FIG. 9 during installation and removal of the discs 301,303. Note that FIG. 9 shows the way the supports 711,713 would behave with cloth S in place but the cloth is not shown for clarity.

FIG. 9 shows the discs 301,303 going together. As they pass the point shown in FIG. 9 the discs 301, 303 will snap together, the user feels this snap to know the discs 301, 303 are connected. FIG. 10 shows the position the Discs 301, 303 assume once they are snapped on over cloth. Note that the cloth is removed for clarity. Arrows F1 show the direction of a force that would be applied to the mount disc 301 and backer disc 303 to remove the mount system 100. The force F1 must be sufficient to flex the rings of the backer disc 303 as shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 shows the discs 301, 303 as they would be with no cloth in place. The tips of the inner rings 509, 705 and the outer rings 507, 705 just touch, there is sufficient interference so that the discs 301, 303 stay together even when not in use on fabric which prevents the discs 301, 303 from getting lost when not in use. Arrows F in FIG. 9 show the direction of force that would be used to snap the mount disc 301 to the backer disc 303. Almost no force F is required when no cloth is present but a significant finger squeeze is required when cloth is present.

In accordance with the present invention, FIG. 12 shows an alternate way to attach items to a shirt. FIG. 12 is a front view of the device 1000 in use. A garment to be worn on the upper body such as a shirt 1020 has a plurality of fastener strips 1040 attached to it. As shown there are two parallel strips 1040 attached to the upper right shoulder area 1100 of the shirt 1020 and two parallel strips attached to the upper left shoulder area 1120 of the shirt. Each strip 1040 is a strip of pile material useful in a ‘loop-pile’ fastener system such as that trademarked under the name Velcro. It is important that only the pile material be attached to the shirt 1020 as loop material tends to collect lint when washed in modern laundry equipment. The length of each strip 1040 is approximately parallel to the shoulder seam 1060. The strips 1040 are located near the neck of the shirt 1020 such that they would be close to the ear of a person wearing the shirt 1020. Most shirts on the market today have a seam 1060 that runs along the top of the shoulder. This seam 1060 is created when the shirt 1020 is sewn together, typically a front panel 1080 is sewn to a back panel (not shown) that is essentially a mirror image of the front panel 1080. FIG. 13 shows a close-up of a portion of the shirt 1020 and strips 1040. FIG. 13 also shows a communication device such as cellular phone 1200 laying on the shirt 1020. On the back of the phone 1200 are two patches of loop material 1220 and 1240. As is well known when the patches of loop material 1220, 1240 are placed on the pile strips 1040 the loop material will stick to the pile material such that the phone 1200 can be held in place on the strips 1040. The phone 1200 includes a center seam 1300 that can allow access to the inside of the phone 1200 such as a battery compartment in the phone 1200 for example.

FIG. 13 shows that there can be indicia such as a company name or logo 1500 printed on the shirt 1020 between the patches 1040. The location of this indicia 1500 could be used to help a user place the patches 1040 on the correct location such as if a large quantity of shirts 1020 were sent to have the strips 1040 sewn on. It is common to put a logo on the chest of a shirt, but the strips 1040 and indicia 1500 are higher on the shirt within a few inches of the shoulder seam 1060. An advantage of this position is that gravity tends to hold the phone against the shoulder of the user providing a stable position and the contact with the shoulder makes it easier for the user to detect an incoming call when the phone 1200 is set to vibrate as opposed to ring. When a user does detect an incoming call they can answer the call with a single motion of the arm.

FIG. 14 shows a the shirt 1020. The cell phone 1200 is mounted on the pile strips 1040. It will be noted that when a person wants to use the phone 1200 they will reach for it with the arm opposite the shoulder where the phone 1200 is mounted on strips 1040. With the upper arm U hanging straight down in a natural position for the upper arm, the lower arm L has a natural swing arc A, B that takes the hand and fingers from a position A near the waist to a position B near the neck. Ideally the cell phone 1200 should be located on a point along that arc path AB to be easily accessible. By placing pile strips 1040 and the phone 1200 at the shoulder near point B the phone 1200 is easy to see and to hear. A user who wears the phone in this spot for a few days will quickly learn to answer the phone and to even use speed dial without removing the phone 1200 from the shirt 1020. But the phone can easily be removed as needed by pulling to separate the loop material 1220, 1240 from the pile material 1040. Note that the phone length is approximately perpendicular to the length of strips 1040. There are strips 1040 on both shoulder areas 1100, 1120 to accommodate right handed and left handed users. The spaced strips 1040 provide a stable grip for the phone 1200 while the space between the strips 1040 help the user get a grip on the phone 1200 when the user wants to remove the phone 1200 from the shirt.

FIG. 15 shows an alternate embodiment 2000 of the phone attachment system. A one piece pile patch 2020 includes two strips of pile material 2040 and one center strip of embroidery material 2060 that can include indicia such as a logo. The cell phone 2200 also has two pieces of loop material 2220, 2240, a seam 2260 between the pieces 2220, 2240 allows access to the inside of the phone to provide access to a battery or Sim card inside the phone 2200. The embodiment 2000 can be sold as a kit (2020, 2220, 2240) to be installed on a shirt 1020 and phone 2200 or it can be provided already attached to a shirt with one or two pieces of adhesive backed loop material 2220, 2240 or the patch 2020 can be attached to a shirt 1020 and sold with a phone 2200.

FIG. 16 shows an alternate patch 3020 with a logo 3060 and two shapes of loop pile material 3040. FIG. 16 shows that the shapes 3040 can be adhesively 3100 attached to a badge of backing material 3120 to which the logo 3060 has either been silk screen printed or embroidered. The patch 3020 can be attached to a shirt 1020 or other garment using adhesives or it can be sewn to the shirt 1020 or garment for example.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the invention. It will be obvious that other devices such as any communication device including a music player or pager or radio could be mounted using the system. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

Claims

1. A cell phone mounting system comprising;

a first strip of pile material attached to the shoulder of a shirt near a neck collar, a second strip of pile material adjacent said first strip, a first strip of loop material adhesively attached to the back of the phone near the top of the phone and a second strip of loop pile material adhesively attached to the back of the cell phone near the bottom of said cell phone.

2. The cell phone mounting system of claim 1 wherein said first and second strips of pile material are sewn to a shirt such that a length of the first and second strips are parallel to a shoulder seam of said shirt.

3. The cell phone mounting system of claim 1 wherein said first and second strips of pile material have an adhesive backing.

4. The cell phone mounting system of claim 3 wherein said first and second strips of pile material are adhesively attached to a badge of fabric that is sewn to said shirt.

5. The cell phone mounting system of claim 4 wherein said badge has indicia printed between said strips of pile material.

6. The cell phone mounting system of claim 4 wherein the badge is sewn to said shirt at a point along an arc defined by the swing of the arm opposite said shoulder.

7. A shirt cell phone combination comprising;

a shirt having a first strip of pile material attached to the shoulder of the shirt near a neck collar, a second strip of pile material adjacent said first strip,

a phone having a first strip of loop material adhesively attached to the back of the phone and a second strip of loop pile material adhesively attached to the back of the phone such that said phone can be attached to said first and second strips of pile material.

8. A mounting system for a personal device comprising;

a relatively rigid mounting disc having at least one mount ring on a back surface thereof, the ring carrying a gripping tooth, the mounting disc having an attachment device on a front surface thereof,

a flexible backer disc having at least one backer rings on a backer disc front face, the backer ring aligned with said mount ring such that when said mounting disc back face is placed against said backer disc front face, with said mount ring and said backer ring in concentric relationship, said backer ring and mount ring will interfere and prevent the backer ring from sliding past the backer ring until some force is applied to said mount disc and backer disc, and

wherein once said mount disc and said backer disc are forced together a surface on said mount ring and a surface on said backer disc will interfere and prevent the mount disc and the backer from coming apart until a separation force is applied to said mount disc and backer disc,

wherein the mount disc and backer disc can be snapped together over a layer of fabric and said mount disc and backer disc will grip and stay on the fabric allowing devices to be attached to said fabric.