Abstract:
The present invention discloses an electronic device cradle organizer comprising a base, a plate adapted to be secured to a top portion of the base, and wiring positioned within the base.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to electronic device cradles and, more particularly, to an electronic device cradle organizer.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     An electronic device cradle, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) cradle or a mobile phone (or cellular phone) cradle, is generally used to recharge the electronic device&#39;s battery via a DC adapter as the electronic device sits in the cradle. There are various situations when placing multiple electronic device cradles in one area is desirable. Conventional attempts to provide such a feature require the number of power adapter units and DC outlets to be equal to the number of electronic devices that are to be recharged. Further, multiple sets of wiring (some as long as six feet, for example) are needed which often results in DC adapter tangles and difficulty in assessing which adapter corresponds with which cradle.  
         [0003]     Several industrial handheld manufacturers offer multiple slot cradles that are custom designed to only fit only their models, while the major electronic device suppliers do not offer multiple slot cradles. It is therefore desirable for the present invention to overcome the limitations and problems described above that are involved with electronic device cradles.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention achieves technical advantages as an electronic device cradle organizer that supports and powers multiple electronic device cradles to minimize exposed wiring and organize the operation of cradling multiple electronic devices in one area.  
         [0005]     In one embodiment, an electronic device cradle organizer comprises a base, a plate adapted to be secured to a top portion of the base, and wiring positioned within the base.  
         [0006]     In another embodiment, an electronic device cradle organizer comprises a base adapted to hold a plurality of cradles, a plate adapted to be positioned through a portion of the plurality of cradles and secured to a top portion of the base, a power supply, and wiring adapted to connect the power supply to the plurality of cradles, wherein the wiring is positioned within the base.  
         [0007]     In a further embodiment, a method for organizing electronic devices comprises placing a plurality of cradles on a base, placing a detachably attached plate through a portion of the cradles and on to a top portion of the base, and placing a plurality of electronic devices through the plate and on to the cradles.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic device cradle organizer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates a method for organizing electronic devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device cradle organizer  10  of the present invention is presented. The cradle organizer  10  comprises a top plate  12  (comprising cut-out portions  13 ), cradle wiring  16 , and a base or enclosure  18  that may hold one or more individual cradles  14 . Each of the cradle wiring  16 , which are intermediate DC power cords, are used to connect to each of the cradles  14 , and more specifically to each of the cradle power input jacks. The wiring  16  may further be voltage coded to match certain electronic device cradle requirements The enclosure  18  contains at least one power supply (not shown) coupled to the wiring  16  and to at least one DC power adapter or cord (not shown), and, optionally, to at least one data connection cable (not shown). The at least one power supply is sufficient in size to provide the DC power required for the multiple PDA cradles  14 . The DC power adapter and the optional data connection cable exit the enclosure  18  and can be respectively coupled to an DC outlet and to other electronic components, such as a PC.  
         [0011]     The cradle organizer&#39;s  10  top plate  12  can be designed and sculpted in a multitude of various shapes, lengths, widths, heights, and thickness in order to accommodate a plurality of different manufacturers&#39; PDAs or other electronic devices that are able to utilize a cradle. Such a feature permits the cradle  10  to become an easily customizable, re-usable, and user configurable organizational device that includes a common base unit  18  with accommodating power and wiring. Such a design further eliminates the need to use individual power adapters for every cradle. Rather, the individual cradles are held in a fixed and aligned position with the top plate  12  and within or on the base  18  that contains and conceals the individual cradle wiring.  
         [0012]     An advantage of the present invention is to organize cradles provided by electronic device manufacturers into a multi-station cradle without the need for expensive tooling set up by that manufacturer or a third party. Electronic device cradle designs are changed often (for example, every six months) making specific multi-slot cradle development and tooling cost prohibitive. The present invention utilizes an approach whereby single cradles provided by an electronic device manufacturer are accommodated with low cost power connect and shaped plates to accommodate them. As cradles are changed by the electronic device manufacturer, the only update to the cradle organizer  10  may be an inclusion of a new shaped plate.  
         [0013]     It should be noted that the present invention does not prohibit the use of any electronic device and electronic device cradle function such as, but not limited to, synchronizing the electronic device and a PC through the data connection cable via a Universal Serial Bus or a serial interface.  
         [0014]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a method for organizing electronic devices comprises placing a plurality of cradles on a base at step  20 , placing a detachably attached plate through a portion of the cradles and on to a top portion of the base at step  22 , and placing a plurality of electronic devices through the plate and on to the cradles at step  24 .  
         [0015]     Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.  
         [0016]     Some of these rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions include, for example, the number of cradles  14  and wires  16  that can be supported by the base  18  and by the organizer  10  in general can be a lower or higher number than those depicted. Also, the top plate  12  (including the cut-out portions  13 ), as well as the base  18 , can be configurable and thus be made longer, shorter, wider, narrower, etc. to set a desired length, height, and width of the plate  12  and/or the base  18  to accommodate various cradles (both old and new) from different manufacturers. Further, different cradles may be utilized in a common base by utilizing a fixed top plate with appropriate cut-outs or by utilizing a configurable top plate. Still further, certain wiring, such as the data connection cable may not be necessary, if certain wireless interfaces, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc., were utilized.