Abstract:
The present invention is to provide a holding device comprising a support for mounting a portable electronic device thereon, a buffer and a base. One end of the buffer is pivotably connected to the support and the other end thereof is pivotably connected to the base. The support is adapted to pivot about one end of the buffer. The buffer is adapted to pivot about a top of the base. The base has a bottom fixed to a flat surface. By utilizing this holding device, the force of shocks and jarring can be absorbed by the buffer.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to hands-free devices fixed to the interior of a motor vehicle, and more particularly to an improved device, fixed to the interior (e.g., dashboard) of an automobile, for holding a portable communications device (e.g., mobile phone) or a pocket-sized personal computer (e.g., PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)). 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Technology has known a rapid, spectacular development in recent several decades. A variety of advanced electronic products are widely used by people. As a result, a lot of convenience is brought to our daily life and our living quality is improved significantly. Further, the fast development of such novel electronic products is closely associated with our daily life. Typical examples of the products are PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and mobile phones. These products are characterized in that they are portable, compact, and lightweight. Further, they are featured with memorandum, calendar, database, video game, phone book, dictionary, graphics, calculator, etc. As such, these portable electronic products are very popular among consumers. In response, more and more manufacturers of the art spend a lot of money and time in research and development of the portable electronic products. Hopefully, they can produce many types of portable electronic products with features such as being more powerful, compact, slim, and lightweight. 
         [0003]    Applications of these portable electronic devices include, but not limited to, personal information management tool, video game machine, music player, and automobile navigation assistant. Typically, for ease of visual observation a holder is fixed to the interior (e.g., dashboard) of an automobile and a portable electronic device of the type described above is placed on or in the holder such that a driver may easily, conveniently use the portable electronic device while driving. 
         [0004]    A variety of holders for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile are commercially available. One such holder is shown in  FIG. 1 . The holder comprises a rectangular base  10 , a circular swivel mount  12  provided on the base  10  and having top gear teeth, a bracket  13  horizontally rotatably provided on a top of the swivel mount  12 , a link  14  having one end hingedly interconnected two opposite flanges of the bracket  13 , and a seat  15  having its bottom end pivotably provided at the other end of the link  14 . A portable electronic device (not shown) may be mounted on the seat  15  and the base  10  is fixed to a flat surface (e.g., dashboard) of an automobile. A driver may turn both the swivel mount  12  and the link  14  to adjust height and inclined angle of the electronic device. Also, the driver may turn both the swivel mount  12  and the seat  15  to adjust a horizontal angle of the electronic device relative to the base  10 . 
         [0005]    In view of the facts that an automobile may vibrate after starting, driving on a road of irregularity, or the like. In this condition, the seat  15  may vibrate. Also, a portable electronic device mounted on the seat  15  may vibrate. Such vibration may cause inconvenience to the use of the portable electronic device. Further, internal components of the electronic device may malfunction due to long time of vibration. Furthermore, external components (e.g., write pen, memory card, or the like) connected to the portable electronic device may loosen due to long time of vibration. In addition, display of the portable electronic device may vibrate continuously while driving. As a result, a driver may experience a great difficulty of seeing what is shown on the display. Thus, it is desirable to substantially eliminate the vibration of a portable electronic device mounted on a seat of a holder while driving in order to overcome the inadequacy of the prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    After considerable research and experimentation, a holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile according to the present invention has been devised so as to overcome the above drawback of the prior art. 
         [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a holding device comprising a support for mounting a portable electronic device thereon, a buffer, and a base. One end of the buffer is pivotably connected to the support and the other end thereof is pivotably connected to the base. The support is adapted to pivot about one end of the buffer. The buffer is adapted to pivot about a top of the base. The base has a bottom fixed to a flat surface. By utilizing this holding device, the force of shocks and jarring can be absorbed by the buffer. 
         [0008]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a conventional holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile according to the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile according to the invention; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a portion of a third preferred embodiment of holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a holder for holding a portable electronic device in an interior of an automobile in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and comprises a support  2 , a buffer  3 , and a base  4 . Each component is discussed in detailed below. 
         [0014]    A top of the support  2  is formed with a seat (not shown). A portable electronic device (not shown) is adapted to mount on the seat. At least one first connection member (two are shown)  20  is extended from a bottom of the support  2 . At least one second connection member  30  is formed at one end of the buffer  3 . The second connection member  30  is adapted to snugly insert into a space between the two first connection members  20 . Further, the first and second connection members  20  and  30  are adapted to pivotably fasten together. As such, the support  2  is adapted to pivot about one end of the buffer  3 . The other end of the buffer  3  is pivotably connected to a top of the base  4 . The base  4  has a bottom fixed to a flat surface (e.g., dashboard of an automobile). By configuring as above, a driver may adjust an angle of each of the support  2  and buffer  3  in order to obtain an optimum angle of a display of the portable electronic device relative to the driver for ease of operation. Also, the buffer  3  is adapted to absorb the force of shocks and jarring. As an end, probability of malfunction of internal components of the portable electronic device is greatly reduced. Further, external components (e.g., write pen, memory card, or the like) connected to the portable electronic device are not prone to loosening. Furthermore, the display of the portable electronic device is not subject to vibration. As a result, a driver can clearly see what is shown on the display. 
         [0015]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , in the first preferred embodiment of the invention each of the first connection members  20  comprises a first through hole  202 . One first connection member  20  further comprises a rectangular recess  204  formed at a mouth of the first through hole  202  on its outer surface. The second connection member  30  comprises a second through hole  302 . A pivot unit  5  is adapted to pivotably connect the first connection members  20  and the second connection member  30  together. Thus, the support  2  is adapted to pivot about the buffer  3  on the pivot unit  5 . The pivot unit  5  comprises a first threaded pin  50  and a first knob  52 . The first knob  52  comprises a third through hole  520 . A nut  6  is provided in the third through hole  520 . The first pin  50  is adapted to drive through the second through hole  302  and the first through holes  202  into the third through hole  520 . The head of the first pin  50  is received in and secured to the recess  204  of one first connection member  20  and the open end of the first pin  50  is inserted into the third through hole  520  to threadedly secure to the nut  6 . Thus, turning the first knob  52  will adjust a position of the nut  6  relative to the first pin  50 . As an end, the second connection member  30  is tightly clamped between the first connection members  20  and the first connection members  20  are thus fixed, or the second connection member  30  is loosely engaged between the first connection members  20  and the first connection members  20  are thus pivotal 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a holder according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The holder comprises a support  2 , a buffer  3 , a base  4 , and a rigid clamp unit  7 . Each component is discussed in detailed below. 
         [0017]    A top of the support  2  is formed with a seat (not shown). A portable electronic device (not shown) is adapted to mount on the seat. A bottom of the support  2  is pivotably connected to one end of the buffer  3 . As such, the support  2  is adapted to pivot about one end of the buffer  3 . The other end of the buffer  3  is pivotably connected to a top of the base  4 . The base  4  has a bottom fixed to a flat surface (e.g., dashboard of an automobile). The pivotal joining portion of the buffer  3  and the support  2  is clamped by the clamp unit  7 . By configuring as above, a driver may adjust an angle of each of the support  2  and buffer  3  in order to obtain an optimum angle of a display of the portable electronic device relative to the driver for ease of operation. Also, the buffer  3  is adapted to absorb the force of shocks and jarring. As an end, probability of malfunction of internal components of the portable electronic device is greatly reduced. Further, external components (e.g., write pen, memory card, or the like) connected to the portable electronic device are not prone to loosening. Furthermore, the display of the portable electronic device is not subject to vibration. As a result, a driver can clearly see what is shown on the display. Note that the provision of the clamp unit  7  can increase the structural strength of the buffer  3 . 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , in the second preferred embodiment of the invention a pivot unit  5  is adapted to pivotably connect the support  2  and the buffer  3  together. Thus, the support  2  is adapted to pivot about the buffer  3  on the pivot unit  5 . At least one first connection member (two are shown)  20  is extended from a bottom of the support  2 . At least one second connection member (three are shown)  30  is formed at one end of the buffer  3  facing the bottom of the support  2 . The first connection members  20  are adapted to snugly insert into two spaces each between two adjacent second connection members  30 . As a result, the support  2  and the buffer  3  are pivotably fastened together. 
         [0019]    In the second preferred embodiment the first connection member  20  comprises a first through hole  202  and the second connection member  30  comprises a second through hole  302 . The pivot unit  5  comprises a first threaded pin  50  and a first knob  52 . The first knob  52  comprises a third through hole  520 . A nut  6  is provided in the third through hole  520 . The clamp unit  7  comprises two triangular plates  70  each including a fourth through hole  72  adapted to permit the first pin  50  to insert. A rectangular recess  720  is formed at a mouth on an outer end of one fourth through hole  72 . Thus, the first pin  50  is adapted to drive through the fourth through holes  72 , the second through holes  302 , and the first through holes  202  into the third through hole  520 . The head of the first pin  50  is received in and secured to the recess  720 . The open end of the first pin  50  is inserted into the third through hole  520  to threadedly secure to the nut  6 . Thus, turning the first knob  52  will adjust a position of the nut  6  relative to the first pin  50 . As an end, each of the first connection members  20  is tightly clamped between any two adjacent second connection members  30  and the second connection members  20  are thus fixed, or each of the first connection members  2  is loosely engaged between any two adjacent second connection members  30  and the second connection members  20  are thus pivotal. 
         [0020]    In the second preferred embodiment each of the plate  70  further comprises two risers  74  formed along two edges terminated at the other end thereof. The risers  74  of each plate  70  are disposed facing either top or bottom of the buffer  3 . The risers  74  of each plate  70  are adapted to fixedly attach to either top or bottom of the buffer  3  by clamping two top or bottom edges of the buffer  3 . As a result, the plates  70  are held motionless when the nut  6  is threadedly secured to threaded shank of the first pin  50 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a holder according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. A rectangular block  74  is formed on one face of either plate  70  facing top or bottom face of the buffer  3 . Also, a rectangular slot  32  is formed on either top or bottom face of the buffer  3 . The blocks  74  are adapted to snugly fit in the slots  32  for securing the plates  70  to the buffer  3 . As a result, the plates  70  are held motionless when the nut  6  is threadedly secured to threaded shank of the first pin  50 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3  again, in each of the first and second preferred embodiments the base  4  comprises a disc-shaped plate member  40 , two opposite arms  42 , and a suction cup  44 . The arms  42  are extended upright from top of the plate member  40 . The suction cup  44  is formed on a bottom of the plate member  40  and has its circumferential edge projected from edge of the plate member  40 . The suction cup  44  comprises a tab  440  projected from its edge. A trigger  8  is formed on a center of the plate member  40  and is extended through both top and bottom of the plate member  40 . The trigger  8  is formed with a top of the suction cup  44 . The portion of the trigger  8  projected from the plate member  40  is formed with a lever  80  facing the buffer  3 . Pressing the lever  80  will pull a center of the suction cup  44  away from the plate member  40  toward the buffer  3  so as create a vacuum within the suction cup  44 . As a result, the suction cup  44  is secured to the flat surface by the vacuum. 
         [0023]    In each of the above preferred embodiments, top ends of the arms  42  are disposed facing the other end of the buffer  3  and are adapted to clamp the other end of the buffer  3 . The buffer  3  comprises a fifth through hole  34  through its other end facing top of the base  4 . Each of the arms  42  comprises an upper positioning hole  46  facing the other end of the buffer  3 . A pivot unit  9  is provided through the fifth through hole  34  and the positioning holes  46 . As an end, the other end of the buffer  3  is adapted to turn about an axis formed by the pivot unit  9  through the arms  42 . 
         [0024]    The pivot unit  9  comprises a second threaded pin  90  and a second knob  92 . The second knob  92  comprises a sixth through hole  920 . A nut  922  is provided in the sixth through hole  920 . The second pin  90  is adapted to drive through the positioning holes  46  and the fifth through hole  34  into the sixth through hole  920 . The head of the second pin  90  is received in and restricted by one positioning hole  46 . The open end of the second pin  90  is extended beyond the other arm  42  into the sixth through hole  920  to threadedly secure to the nut  922 . Thus, turning the second knob  92  will adjust a position of the nut  922  relative to the second pin  90 . As an end, the other end of the buffer  3  facing top of the base  4  is tightly clamped between the arms  42  and is thus fixed, or the other end of the buffer  3  facing top of the base  4  is loosely engaged between the arms  42  and is thus pivotal. As a result, the other end of the buffer  3  is adapted to turn about an axis formed by the pivot unit  9  through the arms  42 . 
         [0025]    In each of the above preferred embodiments a disc-shaped limiting member  48  is formed at the other arm  42  facing the other end of the buffer  3 . The limiting member  48  comprises a first toothed wheel  480  at one surface facing the other end of the buffer  3 . A second toothed wheel  36  is formed on the other lateral face at the other end of the buffer  3  and is disposed facing the first toothed wheel  480 . The first and second toothed wheels  480  and  36  are meshed together when the other end of the buffer  3  is clamped by and between the arms  42  extended from the top of the base  4 . As a result, a rotation of the buffer  3  is made stepwise (i.e., each step representing a tooth rotation). 
         [0026]    By configuring as above, the buffer  3  is adapted to absorb the force of shocks and jarring while driving. As such, drawback associated by the well known holder is eliminated. Further, the holder is adapted to adjust its angle. In the invention, the buffer  3  is formed of plastic or silicon rubber capable of buffering and absorbing the force of shocks and jarring. However, the buffer  3  is not limited to be formed of plastic or silicon rubber as described above. To the contrary, the buffer  3  can be formed of any suitable elastomeric materials. 
         [0027]    While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.