WIRELESS HAND-HELD REMOTE-CONTROL DEVICE AND DOCK THEREFOR
A new and improved dock, and a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device, for controlling various sections of a powered chair, is disclosed, wherein the dock is adapted to be incorporated within, for example, an arm section of the powered chair, while the wireless hand-held remote-control device is adapted to be inserted into the dock so as not to be lost or misplaced. The wireless hand-held remote-control device has a plurality of control buttons disposed upon the primary or upper face portion thereof so as to control various sections of the powered chair, such as, for example, the headrest section, the back section, a lumbar support section, and a footrest section. In addition, control buttons for the aforenoted sections of the powered chair are also disposed upon a front sidewall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the various sections of the powered chair can be controlled both when the wireless hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock or when the wireless hand-held remote-control device has been removed from the dock.
The present invention relates to wireless hand-held remote control devices for controlling various powered devices, and a dock within which the wireless hand-held remote-control device can be placed so as to store the wireless hand-held remote-control device when it is not being used, as well as to prevent the same from being misplaced, and more particularly to a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device, and a dock therefor, which is particularly adapted to control powered lift chairs, powered recliner chairs, or powered lounger chairs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPowered lift chairs, powered recliner chairs, and powered lounger chairs are often found in residential home living rooms, family rooms, dens, offices, and bedrooms, as well as within business offices. Such chairs often come equipped with various different types of hand-held remote-control devices so as to control various sections of the particular chair in order to move one or more sections of the chair to particularly desired positions. For example, a footrest section of the chair may be moved to an elevated position or to a lowered position, the backrest section of the chair may be moved to an upright position or to any one of a multiplicity of reclined positions, a headrest section of the chair may be moved to various positions in conjunction with the movement of the backrest section of the chair, and a lumbar support section of the chair may be moved to a particular position so as to provide desired support to a person's lumbar region while sitting within the chair. The various different hand-held remote-control devices are essentially similar to each other in that they have various different buttons for controlling the movements of the footrest, the backrest, the headrest, and the lumbar support sections of the chair, however, some hand-held remote-control devices are hard-wired to the chair, while others are wireless. Obviously, if the hand-held remote-control device is hard-wired to the chair, it can be somewhat restrictive in its use depending upon its length, or due to the fact that the wire connecting the hand-held remote-control device to the chair can become entangled with a moving section of the chair, or with an object external to and totally dissociated from the chair.
Accordingly, wireless hand-held remote-control devices have become more prevalent. However, wireless hand-held remote-control devices present their own problems or inconveniences. Being wireless, and therefore totally independent of the various chair sections that they are controlling, they can obviously be located anywhere. Accordingly, they may become inadvertently wedged between different cushions or sections of the chair. Alternatively, they may be placed upon a table adjacent to the chair and then inadvertently covered by something which has also been placed upon the table. Still further, they may be dislodged from the table and fall onto the floor without the person, sitting within the chair, realizing what has happened to the remote-control device, and so the person, sitting in the chair, believes that the remote-control device has been misplaced or temporarily lost, thereby requiring the person, or someone else in the household or office, to expend time searching for the remote-control device. Yet further, since a wireless hand-held remote-control device operates upon battery power, in lieu of electrical power derived from an electrical wall socket wherein the hand-held remote-control device would be connected to the electrical wall socket by means of an electrical power cord, the battery of the wireless remote-control device needs to be periodically recharged. While recharging devices currently exist for recharging other devices, such as, for example, cell phones, they are independent devices which would not be readily adaptable for use with powered chairs in that the recharging devices would have to be placed upon some external surface of the chair, or upon a table or stand located adjacent to the chair.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device. Another need exists in the art for a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced. Yet another need exists in the art for a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced and can be periodically recharged. Still another need exists in the art for a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced and can be periodically recharged, and wherein the new and improved dock and new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device assembly can be readily incorporated within the overall structure of a powered lift chair, a powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair.
OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTIONAn overall objective of the present invention is to provide a new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device. Another overall objective of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced. Yet another overall objective of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced and can be periodically recharged. Still another overall objective of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dock for housing the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device such that the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device does not get misplaced and can be periodically recharged, and wherein the new and improved dock and new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control device assembly can be readily incorporated within the overall structure of a powered lift chair, a powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a wireless hand-held remote-control device, and a dock for housing the wireless hand-held remote-control device, wherein the dock is adapted to be fixedly secured or incorporated within the overall structure of a powered lift chair, a powered reclining chair, or a powered lounger chair, more particularly within one of the arm sections of the chair. More specifically, the dock comprises a hollow box having the configuration of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, defined by a longitudinal extent and a transverse extent, with a substantially oval or elliptically shaped flanged portion fixedly formed or defined upon the front face or front wall thereof, and a slot formed within the front face or wall of the dock and extending into the hollow box. When the dock is fixedly secured or incorporated within one of the arm sections of the powered lift chair, the powered reclining chair, or the powered lounger chair, the flanged front face or wall of the dock will engage, and effectively be flush with, an outer surface portion of one of the chair arms while the wireless hand-held remote-control device is adapted to be inserted through the slot and into the hollow interior of the dock so as to be stored therewithin. It is also noted that the wireless hand-held remote-control device is secured within the dock by a magnetic interface defined between a pair of magnets incorporated which are within or upon an interior rear wall portion of the dock, and a pair of ferromagnetic plates which are incorporated within a rear side wall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device. Still yet further, the interior rear wall portion of the dock and the rear side wall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device are also provided with suitable electrical charging interface components whereby when the wireless hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock, the batteries of the wireless hand-held remote-control device can automatically be charged such that the wireless hand-held remote-control device always has sufficient electrical power to emit control signals when and as may be desired to control the movements of the various components or sections of the powered lift chair, the powered reclining chair, or the powered lounger chair, such as, for example, the footrest, the backrest, headrest, and the lumbar support section of the chair.
In addition, the primary or upper face of the wireless hand-held remote-control device is provided with a plurality of control buttons for controlling the movements of various sections of the chair, such as, for example, the footrest, the backrest, the headrest, and the lumbar support section of the chair, and, still further, a side wall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device also includes a plurality of control buttons for controlling the movements of the various sections of the chair, such as, for example, the footrest, the backrest, and the headrest section of the chair. In this manner, the movements of the footrest, backrest, and the headrest sections can be controlled both when the wireless hand-held remote-control device is inserted into, and disposed within, the dock, or when the wireless hand-held remote-control device has been removed from the dock. Lastly, one end of the interior lower wall portion of the dock is provided with a smoothly curved, upwardly extending bump or convex projection, and correspondingly, one end of the lower face of the wireless hand-held remote-control device is provided with a transversely extending concave recess for accommodating the curved bump or convex projection of the dock, or more particularly, to permit the wireless hand-held remote-control device to be inserted into the dock. In this manner, the wireless hand-held remote-control device can only be inserted into the dock in a predetermined manner or orientation so as to ensure that the magnetic and charging interfaces are properly aligned with each other, as well as to ensure that the sidewall portion of the wireless hand-held remote-control device, having the various control buttons mounted operatively thereon, is accessible to the person, sitting in the chair, when the wireless hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock.
Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
With reference first being made to
Turning now to the present invention, with reference being made to
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Still further, it is also seen that the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 is provided with first and second memory control buttons 230,232, marked M1,M2, such that when these buttons are respectively depressed, the various sections of the chair 100 can be automatically moved to preset positions. In a similar manner, another button 234, marked TV, is also provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 so as to automatically move the various sections of the chair 100 to a predetermined TV position, and lastly, still another button 236, marked ZG, is also provided upon the primary or upper face 216 of the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 so as to automatically move the various sections of the chair 100 to a predetermined zero-gravity position at which the headrest section 108 of the chair 100, the backrest section 104 of the chair 100, and the footrest section 110 of the chair 100 are effectively disposed at positions which effectively define a horizontal plane, or a planar arrangement wherein the headrest section 108 of the chair 100 is disposed at an elevation which is slightly lower than that of the footrest section 110 of the chair 100. In this manner, the various movements of the footrest section 110, the backrest section 104, and the headrest section 108 of the chair 100 can also be controlled when the wireless hand-held remote-control device 200 has been removed from the dock 300. Lastly, as can best be appreciated from
With reference lastly being made to
Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, while various different control buttons have been disclosed upon the new and improved wireless hand-held remote-control devices for controlling various different functions of various different sections of a powered chair, it is to be noted that other buttons may be included upon a wireless hand-held remote-control device for controlling various other different functions of various different sections of a powered chair. Still further, the electronic control circuitry of the various different control buttons may be altered such that the various different control buttons will control other sections of a powered chair than has been specifically illustrated. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
Claims
1. A hand-held remote-control device for controlling various sections of a powered chair and for insertion within a dock such that said hand-held remote-control device cannot be misplaced, comprising:
- a housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a parallelepiped and comprising a primary upper face, a rear side face, a front side face, and a bottom face;
- a plurality of control buttons operatively mounted upon said primary upper face for controlling various sections of the powered chair; and
- a plurality of control buttons operatively mounted upon said front side face for controlling various sections of the powered chair,
- whereby the various sections of the powered chair can be controlled by said hand-held remote-control device both when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within the dock or has been removed from the dock.
2. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
- at least one magnetic interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with at least one magnetic interface disposed upon the dock so as to fixedly secure said hand-held remote-control device within the dock.
3. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- said hand-held remote-control device comprises a wireless hand-held remote control device.
4. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 3, wherein:
- said wireless hand-held remote-control device is battery-powered; and
- at least one battery of said battery-powered wireless hand-held remote-control device comprises a lithium-ion battery.
5. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:
- at least one electrical charging interface disposed upon said rear side face of said wireless hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with at least one electrical charging interface disposed within the dock so as to electrically recharge said at least one battery of said hand-held remote-control device when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said dock.
6. The hand-held remote-control device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
- a recess defined within said bottom face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with a convex bump/projection mounted within the dock so as to ensure that said hand-held remote control device can only be inserted into the dock in a predetermined manner.
7. A dock for housing a hand-held remote-control device for use in connection with controlling various sections of a powered chair, comprising:
- a hollow housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a rectangular parallepiped, and which is adapted to be fixedly mounted within a frame portion of the powered chair;
- a flanged portion fixedly secured upon a front face of said hollow housing; and
- an elongated slot defined within said flanged portion and extending into said hollow housing for permitting a hand-held remote-control device to be insert ed through said slot and into said hollow housing such that the hand-held remote-control device can be stored within said dock.
8. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
- at least one magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock for cooperation with at least one magnetic interface disposed upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to fixedly secure the hand-held remote-control device within said housing of said dock.
9. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
- at least one electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock for cooperation with at least one electrical charging interface disposed upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to electrically recharge the hand-held remote-control device when the hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said housing.
10. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
- at least one charging port defined within said flanged portion of said dock for charging auxiliary electronic devices.
11. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
- a convex bump/projection mounted within said hollow interior of said dock for cooperation with a concave recess defined upon the hand-held remote-control device so as to ensure that the hand-held remote control device can only be inserted into said dock in a predetermined manner.
12. The dock as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
- a HOME button mounted upon said flanged portion of said dock for returning all sections of the chair to their original positions.
13. The dock as set forth in claim 7, wherein:
- when said dock is disposed within the frame portion of the powered chair, said flanged portion of said dock will engage an outer surface region of the frame portion of the powered chair so as to ensure that said dock is fixedly secured within the frame portion of the powered chair.
14. In combination, a dock for housing a hand-held remote-control device for use in connection with controlling various sections of a powered chair, wherein:
- said dock comprises a hollow housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a rectangular parallepiped, and which is adapted to be fixedly mounted within a frame portion of the powered chair;
- a flanged portion fixedly secured upon a front face of said hollow housing;
- said hand-held remote-control device comprises a housing having a configuration which is substantially that of a parallelepiped and comprising a primary upper face, a rear side face, a front side face, and a bottom face; and
- an elongated slot defined within said flanged portion of said dock and extending into said hollow housing of said dock for permitting said hand-held remote-control device to be inserted through said slot of said flanged portion of said dock and into said hollow housing of said dock such that said hand-held remote-control device can be stored within said dock.
15. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:
- a first magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock; and
- a second magnetic interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with said first magnetic interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock so as to fixedly secure said hand-held remote-control device within said housing of said dock.
16. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein:
- said hand-held remote-control device comprises a wireless hand-held remote control device.
17. The combination as set forth in claim 16, wherein:
- said wireless hand-held remote-control device is battery-powered; and
- at least one battery of said battery-powered wireless hand-held remote-control device comprises a lithium-ion battery.
18. The combination as set forth in claim 17, further comprising:
- a first electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock; and
- a second electrical charging interface mounted upon said rear side face of said hand-held remote-control device for cooperation with said first electrical charging interface disposed within said hollow housing of said dock so as to electrically recharge said at least one lithium-ion battery of said hand-held remote-control device when said hand-held remote-control device is disposed within said housing of said dock.
19. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein:
- when said dock is disposed within the frame portion of the powered chair, said flanged surface portion of said dock will engage an outer surface portion of the frame portion of the powered chair so as to ensure that said dock is fixedly secured within the frame portion of the powered chair.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 27, 2023
Publication Date: Apr 18, 2024
Inventors: XIAO PING RAN (JINYUAN), YINZAO PENG (CHANGZHOU), YAWEI WANG (NANJING)
Application Number: 18/102,404