Patent Description:
The use of computers, tablets, mobile phones and other smart devices has become indispensable part of our life in practically all areas of activities. This is especially true for different professional applications when such devices are necessary components of everyday work. Work is done not only in offices with indoor circumstances but also under outdoor conditions, in the field with rough circumstances when users require their both hands to carry on. The holding, arrangement and handling of such devices must be ensured also under such conditions to attain that the weight required for their holding be as small as possible and the reliability, protection and comfort of use should be at maximum.

The hard field circumstances may happen under military, police, security, industrial and sport activities, and to such purposes specially designed devices have been developed that comprise water- and shock proof cases and connectors. In the present specification such devices are referred to simply as "industrial devices" which include tablets, mobile phones and other electronic devices equipped with a display to which often different peripheral accessories should be connected. The term peripheral accessory covers reserve battery packs, different electronic field units, ad handling devices which can be used only when connected to the industrial device. The user should wear the industrial device on his/her body, possibly at the region of the chest to leave both hands free, however, during use for watching the display the device must be able for being turned near right angle to the chest of the user. The turning of the device changes in most of the cases the length of the cables leading to the peripheral devices that impose a pulling or pushing force on the concerned cable which might has an adverse effect on the safety of the connection and can lead to cable-breakage or disruption of the wires in the cables. Against such adverse effects up to the present the solution was the increase of the size and weight of the connectors and cables.

In field, sport and free time apparels the use of MOLLE/PALS clothing has become more and more spread using poches and straps. Such clothes can be seen e.g., in <CIT> that are provided with tongues having special designs with a fully bent end parts that can be tucked into pouches made by special straps, and different utensils and gears can be held thereby. Many of the modern industrial and free time sports outfits are equipped with such pouches and straps.

The publication<CIT> provides a solution for holding and connecting industrial devices wherein on a holding tongue a specially designed hinge is arranged that can be suspended in the pouches of a MOLLE clothing and the hinge is attached to the wide side of the rectangular device more precisely to the case of the device, and the electrical connections are solved by a separate block forming part of the case and arranged at the short side of the device, wherein the connection to the peripheral units was made by a vertically extending cable as the connector was fixed to the bottom of the block. The inside of the block provide space for the positioning of electrical components required for the connection but the manipulation there is rather difficult.

In that solution the hinge allowed for the device to be folded out to take a horizontal position but during such a turning the initially vertical position of the connection cable changed to take a horizontal direction, whereby the free length of the cable has become shorter and has also been bent by <NUM>°, causing a substantial mechanical load thereon. In the vertical holding position a separate member is used to connect the device with the suspension assembly that renders the forward bending difficult, and its use requires a separate mechanical step and attention.

There exist hinges that can be turned only under the application of a predetermined torque which are generally referred to as "torque hinges", which will be called in the present specification as "friction hinges" or simply hinges because the required torque is provided by friction forces within the design of the hinge.

A further much more robust and heavy solution for the connection of the device is described in <CIT>, in which the holding of the device (called there as control center) is provided along the longer side and the electrical connection takes place also at the shorter side connected with the drawbacks outlined before.

<CIT> relates to a support bracket for tablet computer device in which the device is positioned to a side of a door with a transparent portion, and the support bracket allows the watching of the screen of the device through the transparent door surface. This arrangement requires the turning of the tablet by <NUM>°, and the support bracket is not designed for human wear.

The task of the invention is to provide a holding apparatus for the previously defined "industrial devices" on a human user that has smaller volume and space than the afore mentioned systems and can provide a comfortable use under field circumstances and provides a reliable connection of the cable or cables of periphery equipment.

With the invention a holding apparatus has been provided for an industrial mobile device, designed as defined in the appended claims.

The holding apparatus made according to the invention provides a solution for the tasks set because provides at the same time a perfect mechanical and electrical connection for the device, has small volume and weight, and the connection cables are led along protected routes and are loaded only by small twisting and not by bending.

The invention will now be described in connection with exemplary embodiments thereof, in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings. In the drawing:.

In <FIG> the main part of the solution according to the invention can be seen in assembled state in a ready to use position. The main task of the holding apparatus is to allow a comfortable wear of a mobile industrial device <NUM> representing a working tool for a user on his/her body and to enable comfortable full-scale use and handling of the device when the need arises to do so. The expression "full-scale use" is intended to cover that use is not limited to any selected function (e.g., conducting phone calls) but all functions of the device <NUM> can be used, i.e., the user can watch the screen, can enter data either by a virtual keyboard displayed on a touch screen or by any connected device. This all can be performed in a comfortable way in the field under outdoor circumstances so that the user will not be limited in his/her free movements and use of his/her hands when there is a need for such use. The deice <NUM> is not designed to the need of average users but for use under industrial, professional circumstances and it is arranged in a sufficiently rigid and strong case, and it is also provided with waterproof stable connectors. In such connectors predominantly spring biased contact elements are used sold under the commercial name POGO PIN™ that are built in sufficiently stable and rigid receptacles, and they are mostly arranged in the central zone of the long narrow side of the device <NUM> that has mostly a rectangular shape.

The device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is an industrially built mobile phone but instead of it an industrially designed tablet or any other flat smart device can be arranged. In <FIG> the viewer can see holding unit <NUM> of a holding apparatus <NUM> that comprises parts including a support block <NUM>, and a small portion of a friction hinge <NUM> can be seen which is connected to the support block <NUM>, and an upper fixing nest <NUM> of a holding frame <NUM> is connected to the holding unit <NUM>, wherein the upper fixing nest <NUM> is fitted to and presses the long upper side of the device <NUM> which extends opposite to the side connected to the support block <NUM>.

For using the holding apparatus <NUM> there is a need for the presence of a suspension assembly <NUM> which does not form part thereof and which has a conventional design and comprises in the exemplary case four holding tongues <NUM> interconnected at their first side and coupled to the hinge <NUM>. The design of the suspension assembly <NUM> is such that it can be attached or suspended on the previously referred MOLLE waistcoat or other clothes with straps designed for field use, and the two outermost tongues <NUM> fixes the position of the suspension assembly <NUM> on the waistcoat or other similar clothing's. During normal use the suspension assembly has a vertical plane, and it is pressed against the chest of the wearer. <FIG> illustrates the holding apparatus <NUM> in the position of its use when the hinge <NUM> is in its outwardly turned to the extreme position, in which the plane of display <NUM> of the device <NUM> is horizontal or it is only slightly inclined in upward direction, whereby the user can see the display <NUM> and can handle the device <NUM> easily with both his hands.

Reference is made now to <FIG> that shows the rear view of the holding apparatus <NUM> and wherein the suspension assembly <NUM> is not attached to it. The friction hinge <NUM> has an elongated body comprising respective bearing shafts <NUM>, <NUM> and respective pairs of slots at its two sides that receive pairs of lugs <NUM> projecting out from the support block <NUM>, and the shape of the lugs <NUM> can be seen in the enlarged views of <FIG> and <FIG>. In <FIG> the support block <NUM> is covered and from it visible are its two sides only, where specially designed waterproof connectors <NUM>, <NUM> can be seen which are connected to these sides, and they have the task of enabling the connection of outer peripheral units to the device <NUM> held by the holding apparatus <NUM>. The holding frame <NUM> is a plate that has the shape shown in <FIG> which is fixed at its bottom part by means of a pair of threaded bolts to respective threaded bores provided in the rear wall of the support block <NUM> and extends along the rear plate of the device <NUM> till its upper side. At the upper part of the holding frame <NUM> a large cut opening is provided limited by two narrow branches <NUM>, <NUM> at the two sides, of which the branch <NUM> extends in an inclined way towards the other branch <NUM> then follows the shape of the cut. The holding frame <NUM> can be made by a polyester sheet reinforced by glass or carbon fibers and has a predetermined extent of flexibility. The fixing nest <NUM> shown in <FIG> is connected to the upper end of the holding frame <NUM>, and the fixing nest <NUM> extends normal to the plane of the holding frame <NUM> and presses the upper side of the device <NUM> in downward direction. The holding frame <NUM> is dimensioned in such a way that its height when the device <NUM> is inserted into the socket provided in the support block <NUM> (see the later part of the present description) is slightly shorter than the width of the device <NUM>, but has sufficient flexibility to allow the engagement of the fixing nest <NUM> into the upper side of the device <NUM> when being pulled with a sufficient force, and following the engagement the fixing nest <NUM> presses the device <NUM> in downward direction and the device <NUM> takes thereby a stable position in the holding frame <NUM>. This connection is stabilized by the presence of a short rim <NUM> extending downward from the forward end of the fixing nest <NUM> shown in the enlarged view of <FIG>, and the rim <NUM> fits to the upper side <NUM> of the device and prevents the device <NUM> from turning and falling outward from the fixing nest <NUM>. The device <NUM> can be removed from the holding frame <NUM> by pulling the fixing nest <NUM> in upward direction with a sufficient force for the disengagement against the resistance of the holding frame <NUM>. Then the device <NUM> can be turned slightly outward and pulled up till the disengagement from the support block <NUM>, and then the device <NUM> can be removed in an easy way.

Reference is made now to <FIG> which show the use of the device <NUM> with the holding apparatus <NUM>. <FIG> corresponds to <FIG> but with a smaller scale and in front view. <FIG> is the side view of <FIG> that shows the holding apparatus <NUM> in open state (drawn with full line) and in closed state (drawn with the dash dot line). The difference with respect to <FIG> is that in <FIG> the suspension assembly <NUM>' is in <FIG> in horizontal position, but - as mentioned earlier - when it is worn on the body of a user, its position will be vertical. <FIG> shows the top view of the arrangement of <FIG>. A substantial difference compared to <FIG> lies also in that in <FIG> the suspension assembly <NUM> was symmetrical, while in <FIG> the suspension assembly <NUM>' is asymmetrical.

In <FIG> it can also be observed that to the two sides of the support block <NUM> respective connecting cables <NUM>, <NUM> are connected, which have respective other ends (not shown in the drawing) that lead to different optional peripheral devices or a power supply also held by the user, whereby the cables enable the use of such peripheral devices with the device <NUM>. In <FIG> it can also be observed that the holding unit <NUM> not only holds and connects the device <NUM> but also enables its turning which is indicated by the two extreme positions. In the open state drawn by full lines, the device <NUM> is in a ready to use position, as also shown in <FIG>, whereas out of use the device <NUM> can be turned into the support plane of the suspension assembly <NUM> or <NUM>', and now it will have a minimum depth and cannot disturb the free movement of the user. For the definite and comfortable use the hinge <NUM> has a special design with high friction so that it can be turned only against the application of a predetermined torque, and it can remain in a stable way in any previously set angular position.

In <FIG> it can also be observed that the distance between the support block <NUM> and the hinge <NUM> is small, whereby the cables <NUM>, <NUM> connected to the device are positioned close to the axis of rotation and their axes extend parallel to this axis of rotation, therefore when the device is turned out or in, the cables will at most get slightly twisted but there will be not break in their lines as it happens at most of conventional fixing arrangements. The mechanical load acting on the cables is therefore small, and the lifetime and stable operation of the cables are not influenced by the frequency of use, and in addition to these conditions the bottom side <NUM> of the device <NUM> provides at the same time a mechanical protection for the cables <NUM>, <NUM>.

The suspension assembly <NUM>' shown in <FIG> has only two holding tongues <NUM>', but at the same time a short tab <NUM> extends out of the suspension assembly <NUM>' at the other side of the holding unit <NUM>. Such a design can be used when the holding apparatus <NUM> should be placed on one side of a vest which is separated in the middle by buttons or by a slide fastener when the holding tongues <NUM>' are suspended only at one side of the vest. After buttoning the vest further tongues (not shown in the drawings) can be suspended to its other side, and their end of such further tongues can be connected to the tab <NUM> of the suspension assembly <NUM>', whereby the suspension gets symmetric, whereas the vest can be worn in the usual way, not disturbed by the holding of the device.

In the enlarged view of <FIG> the details of the internal structure of the fixing nest <NUM> can be seen. Close to the two ends of the fixing nest <NUM> respective short shafts <NUM> are arranged which provide a definite strength to the pressure provided by the fixing nest <NUM> and it also facilitates the insertion and removal of the device <NUM>. The material of the fixing nest <NUM> is preferably aluminum or a plastic material which has a shape fitting to the case of the device <NUM> made also from a similarly resilient material and can press it with the required force.

Reference is made now to <FIG> showing the enlarged perspective view of the holding unit <NUM>, in which the support block <NUM> is still in open state before its connection to the device <NUM>.

The hinge <NUM> has narrow elongated body <NUM>, and from the two sides of the body <NUM> respective triplets of spaced ribs <NUM> extend out in upward direction normal to the base plane, and the ribs <NUM> have curved upper portions and define respective pairs of spaces between them. The two pairs of the lugs <NUM> extending out in downward direction from the bottom of the support bock <NUM> are inserted and fitted into these spaces. The frictional connection is provided by the fastening of the bearing shafts <NUM>, <NUM> and the sufficiently rough surface design of the so interconnected surfaces. In the bottom of the body <NUM> a plurality of threaded bores is provided, and the suspension assembly <NUM> or <NUM>' can be fixed by bolts <NUM> inserted into these threaded bores. The support block <NUM> is mounted on the hinge <NUM> and has about the same width and depth, a brick-like shape and a hollow interior. At the upper side of the support block <NUM> opposite relative to the hinge <NUM> a socket <NUM> is attached that is provided with POGO PIN contacts and which is raised out from the upper side of the block surface and the extended part has a predetermined profile. In view of the hollow design of the support block <NUM> the socket <NUM> is held by a pair of internal supports <NUM> looking like short columns. In <FIG> the two waterproof connectors <NUM>, <NUM> are well visible and they are mounted on the two sides of the support block <NUM>. The hollow internal space of the support block <NUM> provides room for the electrical interconnections and for the components of the circuitry required for the operational coupling between the socket <NUM> and the two connectors <NUM>, <NUM>.

Reference is made now to the enlarged sectional view of <FIG> in which the holding unit <NUM> has been shown in its final assembled state, and in which a connector plug <NUM> has been shown provided on the bottom side <NUM> of the device <NUM> and which is the counterpart of the socket <NUM>. In the sectional view it can be seen that the body of the socket <NUM> has a stepped upper profile, at the two sides the upwardly extending members from the top of the support block <NUM> have respective edges 24a, 24b followed towards the center parts by respective horizontal sections 25a, 25b, and between them respective further outwardly extending horizontal sections 26a, 26b are provided where the socket <NUM> takes its maximum thickness (height). The rear parts of these sections 26a, 26b receive the screws inserted into respective bores made in the column-like supports <NUM>. The upper surface of the outwardly projecting sections 26a, 26b are higher than the upper ends of the spring-biased contacts <NUM> of the socket <NUM>.

The profile of the connector plug <NUM> fixed to the bottom side <NUM> of the device <NUM> is just the complementary of the profile of the socket <NUM>, wherein corresponding to the two edges 24a, 24b at the two sides there are respective inward steps, and opposite to the swelling sections 26a, 26b there are nests 37a, 37b. The contact surfaces of the connector plug <NUM> required for the electrical connections terminate at the horizontal surfaces between and beside the nests 37a, 37b and they press against the oppositely located spring-biased contacts <NUM>. These contact surfaces are located slightly deeper than the swelling sections 26a, 26b.

The socket <NUM> in the support block <NUM> and the connector plug <NUM> at the side of the device <NUM> have conforming and fitting profiles and such conforming profiles limited at the two sides by the edges24a, 24b and in the intermediate portion by the swelling sections 26a, 26b cooperate with the receiving nests and provide a very stable support and form-fitting reception for the device <NUM>, therefore there will be no need for using further receiving and supporting parts. This form-fitting connection can be released only if the device <NUM> is raised from the support block <NUM>. The dimensions shown ensure that no forces can act on the sensitive contact until the two fitting parts get into engagement, since the connector plug <NUM> can be moved in downward direction only after it has been fitted into the socket <NUM>.

In the hollow interior of the support block <NUM> components <NUM> required for the electrical connections are arranged when fixed in a suitably designed printed circuit board <NUM>, and they ensure proper connection of the two connectors <NUM>, <NUM>.

The number and the type (negative or positive) of the contacts in the connectors <NUM>, <NUM> are determined by the properties of the peripheral units connectable to the device <NUM> and by the requirements imposed against these units.

Claim 1:
Holding apparatus (<NUM>) for supporting and connecting an industrial mobile device (<NUM>), wherein the mobile device (<NUM>) has a flat body and comprises at least in the portions used for holding a pair of oppositely located parallel sides (<NUM>, <NUM>), and an industrial-type connector plug (<NUM>) at one of said held sides, the holding apparatus (<NUM>) can be connected to a suspension assembly (<NUM>, <NUM>') and comprises a holding unit (<NUM>) that can be releasably attached to said oppositely located holding side (<NUM>, <NUM>) where the device (<NUM>) is caught and held, and the holding unit (<NUM>) comprises a friction hinge (<NUM>) having a hinge body, and a support block (<NUM>) connected both to the hinge (<NUM>) and the device (<NUM>), characterized in that the friction hinge(<NUM>) can be connected to the suspension assembly (<NUM>, <NUM>') and the support block (<NUM>) has a rectangular shape and comprises a hollow interior, and a connector socket (<NUM>) is arranged at the side of the support block (<NUM>) opposite to the side connected to said hinge (<NUM>) to receive said industrial-type connector plug (<NUM>) when said device (<NUM>) is in the held and fitted position, and said socket (<NUM>) has a shaped profile that in addition to providing electrical connection both holds and fixes the industrial connector plug (<NUM>) and the device (<NUM>) itself in all directions in a stable way except for the direction of its insertion, and to a rear side of the support block (<NUM>) lying normal to the side where said socket (<NUM>) is arranged the bottom of a flat holding frame (<NUM>) is connected, and the flat holding frame (<NUM>) has a height that corresponds to the distance between said two holding sides (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the device (<NUM>), and the holding frame (<NUM>) has an upper side from which a fixing nest (<NUM>) is extending out in a direction normal to the plane of the holding frame (<NUM>) that has a size along this normal direction that corresponds to the thickness of the upper side (<NUM>) of the device (<NUM>), and at the outer end of the fixing nest (<NUM>) a short, downwardly extending rim (<NUM>) is arranged, wherein the height and the material of said holding frame (<NUM>) is designed so that the fixing nest (<NUM>) acts with a resilient pressure on the device (<NUM>) when being attached thereto, whereby the device (<NUM>) is held in the holding frame (<NUM>) under the effect of this pressure.