Abstract:
A phone connector assembly for cellular phones that lack locking connector capability, including a cup-shaped member for cradling the phone having a base at one end with terminal contact pins, and a flexible retainer at the other end which snap-locks into a recess in the top of the phone and holds the phone securely in the cup-shaped member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    Many cellular phones, while having external contacts to internal circuitry, are not designed to be lockingly connected to external devices such as hand-free systems or charging devices. This is because they are not designed to receive locking-type connectors or they have no capability for alternatives to locking connectors.  
           [0002]    It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an assembly that allows the quick connect and disconnect to a phone and which has the capability of being incorporated into existing phone mounting mechanisms.  
         SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0003]    In accordance with the present invention, a phone connector assembly is provided for cellular phones that lack locking connector capabilities including a cup-shaped member for cradling the phone and having a base at one end with terminal contact pins and a flexible retainer member at the other end which snap-locks into a recess on the top of the phone to hold the phone in the cup-shaped member and securely against the contact pins. The phone is slid into the cup flexing the retainer and after the phone is engaged against the terminal pins, the retainer is snap-locked into a recess at the top of the phone.  
           [0004]    Toward these ends, the base is molded as a separate piece from the cup member to facilitate testing the base contact pins by the manufacturer, and thus rejection of a base does not result in an attendant rejection of the cup member or the retainer.  
           [0005]    The retainer clips to the cup member and permits the entire assembly to be packaged with the retainer detached, thereby significantly reducing packaging size.  
           [0006]    Furthermore, the retainer has a flexible tab or detent that snap-locks into the top of the phone and this tab is subject to wear. Because the retainer is removable, it can be easily replaced by the user without replacing the entire assembly.  
           [0007]    The phone cup member has a cross bar with a recess that orthogonally aligns the retainer as it is clipped to the cross bar.  
           [0008]    This cross bar is at the top of the cup member, permitting the rear of the cup member to be open, accommodating different phone shapes and battery sizes.  
           [0009]    The base has an integral wire enclosing sheath, sometimes referred to as a strain relief, eliminating the normal technique of forming the strain relief as a separate part or piece.  
           [0010]    Finally, the terminal contact pins are mounted in a terminal block that is insert-molded into the base. This results in more accurate positioning of the contact pins during manufacture and removes the need for post-gluing of the wire in the strain relief and housing. It also simplifies soldering the leads to the contacts and decreases manufacturing time while improving total product quality.  
           [0011]    Overall, this multiple piece phone connector assembly provides improved quality, manufacturing, assembly, usability, packaging and customization.  
           [0012]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a top left perspective of the present phone connector assembly with a cellular phone shown in dotted lines;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the phone connector assembly illustrated in FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the phone connector assembly taken mid-line through FIG. 1;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a top view of the phone connector assembly illustrated in FIGS.  1  to  3 ;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the phone connector assembly illustrated in FIGS.  1  to  4 ;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the base subassembly, and;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective of the base illustrated in FIG. 6. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0020]    Referring to the drawings, a phone connector assembly  10  is illustrated in accordance with the present invention consisting of three basic components: a base  11 , a phone cup member  12  for cradling the phone, and a retainer  14  for holding the phone in the cup member  12  against contact pins  16  in a terminal block  17  insert molded into base  11   
         [0021]    All three of the pieces, namely; the base  11 , the cup member  12 , and the retainer  14  are separate injection molded thermoplastic parts.  
         [0022]    As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the base  11  is generally rectangular in configuration and includes a rectangular block portion  20  into which terminal block  17  is insert molded, and a pair of arcuate portions  21  and  22  that receive pins  24 , as seen in FIG. 2, projecting downwardly from the cup member  11 . The base member  11  has horizontal surfaces  25  that provide abutments on the base  11  for lower surfaces  26  and  27  on the cup-shaped member  12 .  
         [0023]    As noted above, the insert molding of the terminal block  17  in the base  11  provides improved alignment and positioning of contact pins  16  relative to the corresponding contacts on the lower surface of phone  28  illustrated in FIG. 1.  
         [0024]    The base  11  has an annular sheath  29  integrally molded with the base  11  that provides a strain relief for cable or wire  31  illustrated in FIG. 1, that connects the phone through contact pins  16  to a peripheral system such as a charging system or hands-free system.  
         [0025]    The cup member  12  essentially acts as a cradle for the phone in holding the phone terminals against the contact pins  16  and includes a generally horizontal bottom portion  33  with a rectangular cut-out  34  for receiving base block portion  20  and upstanding spaced parallel integral arm portions  35  and  36  that engage the sides of the phone  28 . The upper ends of the arms  35  and  36  have outwardly stepped portions  38  and  39  that bend to the rear of the cup-shaped member  12  and are interconnected by a cross bar  42  that has a recess portion  43  that engages the sides of the retainer member  14  to orthogonally align the retainer member.  
         [0026]    As seen in the drawings and particularly FIG. 2, the cup member  14  has a large rear opening  45  that accommodates different phone configurations and different battery sizes.  
         [0027]    The retainer  14  is essentially an elongated member having a clip  50  at its lower end that snaps over recess portion  43  and a detent or tab  51  at its other end that snaps into a recess at the top of the phone as seen in FIG. 1. Retainer member  14  has a straight elongated central portion  53  and a top portion  54  that bends 90 degrees with respect to central portion  53  and carries the tab or detent  51  which tapers convergingly downwardly as seen clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0028]    As seen in FIG. 3, the clip  50  is flexible and includes a U-shaped portion  56  having an upwardly projecting arm portion  57  with a snap-locking detent  60  at its upper end. The detent  60  has an angular camming surface  61  that cams the arm U-shaped portion  56  open as the retainer is assembled over the cross bar portion  43  from the lower end of the cross bar upwardly, and the clip  50  has a second locking portion  64  that locks over the top of the cross bar  43  as seen in FIG. 3.  
         [0029]    As phone is inserted into the cradle, the retainer  14  flexes rearwardly or to the left in FIG. 3 somewhat and the user then pushes the rear top portion of the clip up over the top of the phone which cams the upper portion  54  upwardly somewhat and when the detent  51  passes over the recess in the top of the phone, the arm portion  54  snaps downwardly and the detent  51  locks in the recess in the phone. In this position, the phone is securely held against the contact pins  16 , as well as being held in the phone cup member  12 .