Patent Publication Number: US-9406218-B1

Title: Chin-operated remote control

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
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     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of remote controls, more specifically, a remote control that is configured to be manually operated about a chin and upper torso of an end user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing that is configured to rest against a chest of an end user. The housing includes a retractable cord that extends to a chinstrap. The chinstrap is configured to be mounted on a chin of an end user such that upon moving of the head of said end user, the retractable cord moves left, right, extends, and retracts. The retractable cord relays said movement in order to operate a remote control provided provided on the housing. The remote control is adapted for use with an electronic appliance. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the chin-operated remote control will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the chin-operated remote control when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the chin-operated remote control in detail, it is to be understood that the chin-operated remote control is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the chin-operated remote control. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the chin-operated remote control. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of the componentry associated with an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a detail of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , the chin-operated remote control  100  (hereinafter invention) generally comprises a housing  101  that is configured to rest against a chest  200  of an end user  201 . The housing  101  includes a retractable cord  110  that extends to a chinstrap  120 . 
     The chinstrap  120  is configured to be mounted on a chin  202  of the end user  201  such that upon moving of a head  203  of said end user  201 , the retractable cord  110  moves left, right, extends, and retracts. The retractable cord  110  is further defined with a distal end  111  with a clip  112  mounted thereon. The clip  112  is able to secure to the chinstrap  120 . The retractable cord  110  is wound on a spring-loaded spool  113  located inside of the housing  101 . The spring-loaded spool  113  enables the retractable cord  110  to extend and retract with respect to the housing  101 . Moreover, a navigation switch  140  is mounted on a top housing surface  105 . The navigation switch  140  includes a ball member  141  with a hole  142  there through. The hole  142  of the ball member  141  enables the retractable cord  110  to extend and retract there through. 
     The navigation switch  140  includes a left armature  143  and a right armature  144 . The left armature  143  and the right armature  144  are located on opposing sides of the ball member  141 . The ball member  141  is able to move back and forth between the left armature  143  and the right armature  144  in order to detect left and right movement of the chinstrap  120 . Touching of the ball member  141  to either the left armature  143  or the right armature  144  signals a CPU  150 . That being said, the left armature  143  as well as the right armature  144  are in wired communication with the CPU  150 . It shall be further noted that the spring-loaded spool  113  is in wired communication with the CPU  150  so as to detect extension and retraction of the retractable cord  110 . 
     The housing  101  includes a rear surface  106  that includes a clothing clip  160  thereon. The clothing clip  160  is configured to clip onto clothing  300  of the end user  201 . The housing  101  may include an antenna  170  and a plurality of buttons  180 . The antenna  170  enables wireless communication with an electronic device  400  that is to be controlled via the invention  100 . The electronic device  400  may be any item that is able to be operated with a remote control, and comprising a television or remote-controlled car. 
     The plurality of buttons  180  include a menu button  181 , and an on/off button  182 . The CPU  150  is in wired communication with a powering member  190 , which comprises at least one battery. The powering member  190  is contained within the housing  101 . The powering member  190  supplies electricity to all componentry associated with the invention  100 , and is well known in the art. The housing  101  may further include a power light  195  that provides visual confirmation that the invention  100  is operational. 
     The combination of the navigation switch  140  and the spring-loaded spool  113  enables the CPU  150  to detect left, right, extension, and retraction movement of the retractable cord  110 , and which in turn is used to transmit a signal via the antenna  170  to the electronic device  400  remotely. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention  100 , to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and the manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention  100 . 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.