Abstract:
A holding apparatus engages with an information input device, particularly a foldable keyboard, for supporting portable electronic devices such as pocket PC, Palm PC, PDA, mobile phone and the like. The holding apparatus includes a receiving dock which has connector spindles pivotally engaged with the input device and a slot. A bracket is provided to slide in the slot at a first position to flatly fold on the input device to facilitate carrying when not in use. The bracket may be slid in the slot at a second position and be unfolded at a selected angle against the input device for the receiving dock to support the portable electronic device when in use.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a holding apparatus for information input devices and particularly for foldable input devices such as keyboards to support pocket personal computer (PC), palm PC, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone and the like.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A prolific of portable electronic devices have been introduced in the market place in recent years such as mobile phones, electronic game pad, PDA, Palm PC and the like. While they are convenient to carry and use in some selected function, they all have one big disadvantage, i.e. difficult to enter input data. One of the ways being suggested to resolve this problem is to attach an external keyboard. However conventional keyboards are rather bulky and not convenient to carry around. Hence foldable keyboard becomes an attractive alternative.  
           [0003]    Conventional foldable keyboards usually engage with a holding means for supporting the portable electronic devices to be used. The holding means mostly engages with the keyboard by means of a complicated and costly fastening mechanism. The holding means generally has to fold flatly on the keyboard or other input devices to facilitate carrying when not in use, and unfold to a selected angle, usually vertical, against the electronic devices when in use. The vertical position is awkward to use. The bulged keyboard also is prone to subject accidental impact and may easily result in damage. The external wiring between the holding means and keyboard also is annoying and not convenient to carry and use. All this begs for improvement.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a holding apparatus for information input devices that has a connection socket for establishing electric connection with portable electronic devices without additional external wiring or connectors. The holding apparatus also may be positioned at various angles so that the electronic device held thereon may be viewed and used most comfortably to the users. It also provides storing function for protecting the bulged keys from undue impact or damage.  
           [0005]    In one aspect, this invention includes a receiving dock engageable with the input device at a selected position and a bracket pivotally engaged with the receiving dock. The bracket may be flatly folded on the input device at a first position when not in use, and turned and unfolded at a second position for a selected angle for holding the electronic device when in use. The receiving dock has two connector spindles for pivotally engaging with the input device and a slot for holding the bracket.  
           [0006]    In another aspect of this invention, a stand is provided for pivotally engaged with one end of the bracket for supporting the bracket at the selected angle desired at the second position, preferably less than 180 degree.  
           [0007]    In a first embodiment of this invention, the receiving dock has an electronic connection socket for establishing electric connection with the portable electronic device and at least one bulged plane in the slot of the receiving dock for the bracket to slide thereon. The bracket is a hollow rectangular member having a pair of parallel side frames pivotally engageable with an elastic stand for holding the electronic device at a selected angle.  
           [0008]    In a second embodiment of this invention, the receiving dock includes an electronic connection socket and a protrusive wedge member. The bracket is a solid rectangular member having a trough for the wedge member to slide therein at a selected distance and a pair of side slots engageable with an U-shaped elastic stand for holding the electronic device at a selected angle.  
           [0009]    The third embodiment is largely constructed like the second embodiment but with the stand becomes a part of the bracket. The bracket and stand contact each other by a slant surface. A cavity is formed in the bracket and the stand across the slant surface and holds an elastic member therein. The stand may be swiveled against the bracket for a selected angle.  
           [0010]    The fourth embodiment is largely constructed like the first embodiment, however the hollow bracket has two bores formed at two side frames pivotally engageable with a pair of stubs located in the receiving dock.  
           [0011]    The fifth embodiment is largely constructed like the second embodiment. The bracket is also a solid rectangular member having two bores at two sides pivotally engageable with two stubs located in the receiving dock and two slide slots at two sides engageable with an U-shaped elastic stand. The stand has bulged bumps at inner sides for holding the bracket at a selected angle when in use. But there are no wedge member in the receiving dock and trough in the bracket.  
           [0012]    The sixth embodiment is largely constructed like the third embodiment but without the wedge member in the receiving dock and the trough in the bracket and stand. The stand contacts with the bracket at a slant surface, and may be swiveled against the bracket at a selected angle. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    The invention, as well as its many advantages, may be further understood by the following detailed description and drawings, in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of this invention holding a portable electronic device.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of this invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, at a folding state.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, at an unfolding state.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of this invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a third embodiment of this invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6A is a side view of the third embodiment of this invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6B is another side view of the third embodiment of this invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6C is a side view of the third embodiment of this invention with the stand at a swiveling state.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6D is another side view of the third embodiment of this invention with the stand swiveled to a finished state.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6E is a side view of the third embodiment of this invention at an unfolded and used state.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a fourth embodiment of this invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a fifth embodiment of this invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9A is a side view of a six embodiment of this invention at a folding state.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9B is a side view of the six embodiment of this invention at an unfolding state. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 shows a general structure of this invention. The holding apparatus  10  of this invention is engageable with an input device  20  for holding a portable electronic device  30  thereon. The input device  20  may be a keyboard, drawing table, scanner, pen based input device and the like. The portable electronic device  30  may be a mobile phone, game pad, PDA, Palm PC and the like.  
         [0030]    The holding apparatus  10  includes a receiving dock  11  for holding the portable electronic device  30  and a bracket  12  mating with the receiving dock  11 . The receiving dock  11  has a slot  111  to allow the bracket  12  to slide between a first position and a second position. The bracket  12  is folded into the input device  20  when the bracket  12  is positioned at the first position. When the bracket  12  is positioned at the second position, the potable electronic device  30  may be placed on the bracket  12 .  
         [0031]    The receiving dock  11  further has two connector spindles  112  at two sides thereof pivotally engageable with the input device  20  for providing angle exchange between receiving dock  11  and input device  20 .  
         [0032]    The holding apparatus  10  further comprises a stand  13  which is pivotally engaged with the bracket  12  and moved between a first position and a second position in a pivotally manner. When the stand  13  is at the first position, the stand  13  is substantially parallel to the bracket  12  in one side of the input device  20 . When the stand  13  is at the second position, the stand  13  can be sliding and turning from first position to second position and raises the bracket  12 . When the end of bracket  12  has been raised, the receiving dock  11  can be turned upward by the bracket  12  and keeps a selected angle with the input device  20 . The angle is preferably less than 180 degree. The structure set forth above is generally applicable to the embodiments depicted in the following. Structural variance among different embodiments will be elaborated more detailed as follows.  
         [0033]    Referring to FIG. 2, 3A and  3 B for the first embodiment of this invention, the receiving dock  11   a  includes a connection socket  113  which has contacts (shown by corrugated steps) for establishing electric connection with a portable electronic device (not shown in the figures).  
         [0034]    At the lower portion of the receiving dock  11   a , there is a recess with a strip member (unmarked) fixed at the bottom thereof. The strip member has two bulged planes  115  formed at two ends thereof. The strip member and bulged planes  115  form a slot  111  in the recess. At two outer sides of the receiving dock  11   a , there are two connector spindles  112  pivotally engageable with the input device  20 . The bracket  12   a  is a hollow rectangular member having a pair of parallel side frames (unmarked). At one end of the inner side of the parallel side frames, each side frame has an aperture  1211  formed therein, and a slant stub  1213  and a first lug  1212  spaced from the aperture  1211 . At another end of the outer side, each side frame has a second lug  1214 . There is a stand  13   a  made of an elastic bar which has two arms  131  each being pivotally engageable with the aperture  1211 .  
         [0035]    When the bracket  12   a  is at the first position, the bracket  12   a  and stand  13  a are folded together and slipped through the slot  111  to lie on the input device  20  (shown in FIG. 3A). When in use, the bracket  12   a  is moved to the second position through the slot  111  (FIG. 3B). Then the bracket  12   a  and receiving dock  11   a  may be turned about the connector spindle  112  to a selected angle against the input device  20 . The stand  13   a  then may be pivotally turned about the aperture  1211  until the arms  131  being held between the slant stub  1213  and first lug  1212 . The bracket  12   a  and receiving dock  11   a  thus may be lifted and maintained at a selected angle against the input device  20 . Then the portable electronic device  30  may be placed on the receiving dock  11   a  for use. The selected angle normally should be less than 180 degree, preferably between 30 and 80 degree. The second lug  1214  may hit two ends of the slot  111  for preventing the bracket  12   a  from disengaging with the docking socket  11   a  at the second position (FIG. 3B).  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of this invention. It also has a receiving dock  11   b  like the first embodiment, including a connection socket  113  and connector spindles  112 .  
         [0037]    However, at the bottom of the receiving dock  11   b , there is a reversed T-shaped or trapezoid-shaped wedge member  116  for connecting with the bracket  12   b . The wedge member  116  has two protrusive edges  1161  for preventing the bracket  12   b  separated from the receiving dock  11   b . The bracket  12   b  has a trough  1223  which has one open end for the wedge member  116  to slide into the trough  1223  and a closed bordering edge  1222  to prevent the receiving dock  11   b  from disengaging with the bracket  12   b . There are two slots  1221  which parallel with the trough  1223  formed on both outer sides of the bracket  12   b  respectively. There are a plurality of spaced dimple cavities  1224  formed at each side which adjacent to the end opening.  
         [0038]    An U-shaped stand  13   b  made of an elastic bar has two fingers  1321  formed at two ends thereof pointing toward each other. There are two bulged bumps  1322  at two inner sides near the fingers  1321 . The fingers  1321  are slidably engageable with the slots  1221 . When the bracket  12   b  is at the first position, the stand  13   b  is longitudinally moved toward the bordering edge  1222  along the side slots  1221 , and the bracket  12   b  is flatly folded into the input device (not shown in the figure). When the bracket  12   b  is pull out of the receiving dock  11   b , the stand  13   b  is moved away from the bordering edge  1222  until the fingers  1321  reaching the end of the slots  1221  near the opening end. Then the stand  13   b  may be turned and lifted to make the bulged bumps  1322  engaged with one of the dimple cavities  1224 . Thus the bracket  12   b  and the receiving dock  11   b  mounted thereon may be lifted at a selected angle against the input device for supporting a foldable electronic device.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 5 and  6 A through  6 D show a third embodiment of this invention which is largely like the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4. The receiving dock  11   c  is essentially same as  11   b  in FIG. 4 with the components marked by same numerals.  
         [0040]    The bracket  12   c  also has a trough  1234  for slidably connecting with the protrusive edges  1161  of the wedge member  116 , a closed bordering end  1233  for preventing the bracket  12   c  separated from the dock  11   c , and an opening end has a first slant surface with a cavity  1232  formed under the though  1234  for connecting with a elastic member  1231 .  
         [0041]    The stand  13   c  has a trough  133  same as the trough  1234  of the bracket  12   c , a second slant surface mating with the first slant surface and a cavity formed corresponding the cavity  1232 . The elastic member  1231  is located in the cavity  1232  to tie the bracket  12   c  and stand  13   c  together, then the trough  133  and the trough  1234  are slidably moved on the protrusive edge  1161  of the wedge member  116 .  
         [0042]    The apparatus of this invention may be folded on the input device  20  at the first position when not in use (FIG. 6A). When the bracket  12   c  is positioned at the second position (FIG. 6B), the stand  13   c  can be pulled out and pivoted 90 degree by using the elastic member  1231  for forming a space with bracket  12   c  (FIG. 6C). Afterward, the stand  13   c  may be swiveled 180 degree about the Z-axis to make the slant surface of the stand  13   c  contact with the slant surface of the bracket  12   c  in opposite direction (FIG. 6D). Then the bracket  12   c  is lifting by the stand  13   c , and receiving dock  11   c  is rotated by the connector spindle  112  for positioning at a selected angle (FIG. 6E).  
         [0043]    In addition, the slot  111  can be replaced by a stub  114 , and the bracket  12  is moved between a first position and a second position by the stubs  114 .  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of this invention. It is largely constructed like the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. It also has a hollow rectangular bracket  12   d  with two parallel side frames having apertures  1241 , slant stubs  1243  and first lugs  1242 . However, instead of the second lugs at another end, there are bores  1244  formed at another end of the side frames of the bracket  12   d . The receiving dock lid also has a connection socket  113  and connector spindles  112 . However, the slot  111  is replaced by two stubs  114  which are pivotally engaged with the bores  1244 . The stand  13   d  also has fingers  134  for pivotally engaging with he apertures  1241 . It may function equally well as the first embodiment does. However, the bracket  12   d  is pivotally engaging with the receiving dock  11   d  through the bores  1244  and stubs  114  instead of sliding through the slot  111  when moving from the first position to the second position. Further details will be omitted here.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of this invention. It is largely constructed like the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4. The receiving dock  11   e  also has a connection socket  113  and two connector spindles  112 . The receiving dock  11   e  further has two opposite stubs  114  but without the wedge member. The bracket  12   e  is also a solid rectangular member including side slots  1252  and dimple cavities  1253 , but has no trough. The bracket  12   e  further has two bores  1251  formed at one end at two sides engageable with the stubs  114 . It also has a stand  13   e  with fingers  1351  and bulged bumps  1352 . It may function equally well as the second embodiment. However, when the bracket  12   e  is at the second position, the stand  13   e  can raise the end of the bracket  12   e  by pivoting and adjusts angle between the stand  13   e  and the input device  20  by locking bulged bumps  1352  and dimple cavities  1253 , so as to allow the receiving dock  11   e  to pivot around the connector spindle  112  for maintaining a proper angle.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 9A and 9B show a sixth embodiment of this invention. It has a bracket  12   f  with a first slant surface and stand  13   f  with a second slant surface mating with the first slant surface like the ones in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, including a cavity  1262  and an elastic member  1263  across the contacted slant surfaces, but no trough. The receiving dock  11   f  has connector spindles  112  pivotally engageable with the input device  20  and stubs  114  pivotally engageable with the side bores  1261  of the bracket  12   f , but no wedge member. When the bracket  12   f  is at the second position, as shown in FIG. 9A, the stand  13   f  can be pulled out and pivoted 90 degree by using the elastic member  1263  to form a space with bracket  12   f , then pivoted 180 degree around the Z axis to make the first slant surface mating with the second slant surface, so as to allow the receiving dock  11   f  to pivot around the connector spindle  112  for maintaining a proper angle between the stand  13   e  and the input device  20 .  
         [0047]    Therefore, the bracket  12   f  is moved between the first position and the second position by the receiving dock  11   f . When the bracket  12   f  is folded at the first position, the bracket  12   f  is received in one side of the input device  20 , as the dotted line shown in FIG. 9A. When the bracket  12   f  is at the second position, the potable electronic device  30  may be placed on the bracket  12   f.    
         [0048]    It may thus be seen that the objects of the present invention set forth herein, as well as those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained. While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments, which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.