WO2011109665A2

WO2011109665A2 - Smart phone hand holster and dock

Info

Publication number: WO2011109665A2
Application number: PCT/US2011/027098
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eduardo Alejandro Noble Nava
Original assignee: Eduardo Alejandro Noble Nava
Priority date: 2010-03-03
Filing date: 2011-03-03
Publication date: 2011-09-09
Also published as: WO2011109665A3

Abstract

A holster for a hand held device allows a cell phone or other device to be secured to the dorsal side of a hand and still visible while not in use. In this position it may be manipulated by one hand. When desired, the cell phone or other device may be rapidly repositioned into the palm of the hand. This allows fast access to and manipulation of a cell phone or other device, while also allowing it to be secured out of the way on the dorsal side of the glove.

Description

INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION TITLE OF INVENTION

SMART PHONE HAND HOLSTER AND DOCK

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/309,918 filed on March 3, 2010 and claims priority to its date of filing.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR

DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for securing a smart phone, PDA, touchscreen device, GPS or other device in a position that allows quick access, manipulation, and usabilty while docked. The invention keeps a device in view of the user while he or she engages in activites that require the use of one or both hands. Specifically, the invention provides systems and methods for docking a cell phone or other hand held device having the top or working part of the device exposed and facing the user on the dorsal side of a hand, similar to a wrist watch as opposed to a pocket watch. This placement allows the device to be used, viewed , and manipulated with one finger if the hand are otherwise engaged. The invention also allows the device to be quickly transferred into the palm. when needed for use as a phone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cell phones, cameras, PDAs Ipods® and other hand held electronic devices have become ubiquitous in our society and often include a touch screen and entertainment features. Many prefer to keep cell phones, cameras and other devices with them and within view at all times. Owners of these devices often prefer to store these devices in locations that are both out of the way and in sight and readily accessible. With phones having more and more applications , there is a need for using these devices in a greater number of situations and a need to have a holstering or docking device that is designed for each situation - one for the car , one while excercising etc. The invetion provides a solution to having to own many such apparatuses. The invention allows replacement of all other docking and holstering devices with one device that replaces them and allows an extra level of connectedness. A need has arisen and will continue increase, to integrate these devices and their many aplications and fuctionalities into our lives and routines.

Many women store their cell phones and other devices in a purse. However, many other items are stored in a purse and the hand held device may easily become lost in a purse. Similarly, backpacks and other carrying cases may be acceptable devices in which to store items, but they rarely provide quick access. As a result, phone calls are not answered and photographs are not captured or extra attention is diverted to finding, and/or activating the phone.

Various holsters and carrying cases have been developed for cell phones, and many of them are designed to protect devices from impact due to falling. These holster and cases may be slung around a person's neck, attached to a bracelet type cord and carried about the wrist, or attached to a belt or other web. While these may be superior storage devices to a purse or backpack, they still suffer disadvantages. Many require both hands and eye contact and extraction from a case in order to remove or detach the device and manipulate it. Devices are often dropped as a result. In addition, these holster and carrying cases are particularly cumbersome for people riding bikes or in wheelchairs. This may be both time consuming and distracting, and damaging to device. These devices may also require other hand held items to be dropped, set down or stored while the device is being accessed. Other holsters, such as those worn on a belt, may have a funny appearance and may be inconvenient when sitting, especially in small seats such as an airplane or a movie theatre. There is thus a need for a holstering device that allows it to be viewed while hands are engaged, such as when using a computer or driving. It is therefore desirable to provide a holster for hand held devices that provides quick access that does not require extraction or both hands or direct eye contact with the device.

It is also desirable to provide a device for maintaining a hand held device in sight while seamlessly transitioning from one activity to another, for example transitioning from driving to working on a computer without having to remove the phone from one holster and placing it in another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention advantageously provides a method and system for a PDA, Ipod®, GPS, cell phone, or other hand held device holster and dock comprising a glove having a palmar side, a dorsal side and a fastening pad on the dorsal side, a plaque having an attachment pad and one or more tethers connecting the glove to the holster. The back fastening pad of the plaque may be affixed to the dorsal fastening pad of the glove and the tether allows the plaque to be positioned on the palm of the glove. When both in the palm and on the dorsal side of the glove, the device is not covered buy may be viewed and manipulated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a dorsal view of an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a dorsal view of an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a palmar view of an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a palmar view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a dorsal view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention in use;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiments of the invention in use:

Figures 9a - 9d are views of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figures 10a - lOf are views of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a hand held device securing holster or dock in accordance with the invention is shown generally as 10. FIG. 1 shows a glove 12 and a plaque 14 connected by a tether 16. The plaque 14 is attached to the back of a hand held device 18. In this embodiment, the hand held device 18 may be a cell phone such as an Iphone®.

The glove 12 has a fastening pad 19 incorporated within it on the dorsal side 20 of the glove 12. The plaque 14 has a corresponding attachment pad 22. The fastening pad 18 and attachment pad 22 are complimentary and bind to each other. In this embodiment, fastening pad 18 and attachment pad 22 are magnets the hold the plaque 14 and device 18 securely on the dorsal side 20 of the glove 12 when the device 18 does not require precise manipulation. The other functions may still be used, such as touchscreen capabilities, playing of music or video, and GPS mapping.

FIG. 2 shows the device 18 secured to the dorsal side 20 of the glove 12. When in this position, the tether 16 lies at rest between the thumb and forefinger and the plaque is affixed to the dorsal fastening pad 19. Device 16 is secured in a position that provides quick access and a clear line of sight to device while engaged in activities such as typing or driving, and may be moved to the palm of the hand without the use of either hand or extraction from a purse or case.

FIG. 3 shows the device 18 in the palm 24 of the operator's hand 26. In this position, the operator may manipulate the device 18 while still attached to the plaque 14 by tether 16. The tether is attached to the palm side 26 of the glove 12. When the device 18 is in the palm of the operator, the tether 16 is folded over on itself. In this embodiment, the tether 16 allows the device 18 to travel between the palm and the dorsal side of the operator. The tether 16 is stitched to the palm 26 of the glove 12 approximately in the thenar region of the glove 12. However, the tether may be attached to the glove at many other locations. The tehers may be easily detached, in this case by velcro but quickrelease buckles or other quick release devices may also be used. This allows the device to be readily detached from the holster/dock device so that others may use it or for other purposes.

FIG. 4 shows the glove 12, tether 16 and plaque 14. Here, it can be seen that plaque 14 has a slot 30 through which the distal end 32 of the tether 16 may pass. Tether 16 is pulled through slot 30 and folded over on itself so that pads 34 and 35 come in contact and become secured to one another. In this embodiment, Velcro® may be used in pads 34 and 35 to allow them to connect easily and firmly. Other materials that allow for detachable connection and adjustment may also be used, such as for example the series of snaps as commonly found on baseball caps or other methods for adjustably securing a web type device to an object having a slot or lanyard. Pads 34 and 35 may be relatively long so that the operator may adjust the length of tether 16 and thus the distance it extends from the palm side 28 of the palm.

In this embodiment, the tether is attached to the palm side 26 of the glove 12.

However, it may also be attached to the dorsal side of the glove, or to the region between the thumb and forefinger. Alternatively, the invention may provide a tether that allows travel around the medial or lateral sides of the hand instead of between the thumb and forefinger. Additional fastening and attaching pads may be used to provide more than one position on the dorsal side of the glove to which a plaque or case may be secured.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention 50 having a case 52 instead of a plaque connected to the glove 54 by means of a tethers 56 attached to the medial side 58 of the glove 54. In this embodiment, case 52 may be designed to accommodate a Blackberry® mobile or other device.

Referring to FIG 6, the case 52 includes two attachment pads 60 capable of firmly affixing to fastening pads 62 on the dorsal side 64 of glove 54. In this embodiment two smaller attachment and fastening pads may be used instead of one large one as shown in embodiment 10.

FIG. 7 shows the case 52 secured to the back of the glove 54. The case 52 may be held in the palm, and when released by the hand the device may swing around the medial side of the hand and attaches to the fastening pads simply by flicking the wrist.

Glove 54 in this embodiment covers the wrist as well as the hand. This allows a tether to be attached near the wrist. The number of tethers used and their point of attachment to the glove and case or plaque may be varied. The tethers may alternatively be elastic or adjustably elastic to facilitate quick relocation from the dorsal to palmar sides of the operator' s hand.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment70 including a glove 72 on an operator' s hand while he grasps a steering wheel 74. The operator's other hand 76 may operate a touchscreen pad 78 of the device 80. FIG. 8 similarly shows an embodiment 88 where a GPS map on a touchscreen 90 of the device 92 is easily visible while an operator holds a steering wheel 94.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show several different views of embodiments that include, inter alia, multiple dorsal fastening pads that provide alternative positioning of a hand held device on the dorsal side of a glove.

FIGS. 11 - 13 show alternate embodiments of the invention. FIG. 11 shows an embodiment 100 having a tether 102 connected to a spring 104 to assist the translocation of a plaque 106 from the palm to the dorsal side of the holster/dock. FIG. 12 shows an embodiment 110 having an alternative type of spring mechanism 112 attached to a tether 114. FIG. 13 shows an alternative embodiment 120 that includes a ring 122 having a tether 124 connected to a plaque 126. Plaque 126 includes an attachment pad 128 that is complimentary to a securing pad 130. Pad 130 is incorporated into a simple band 132, rather than an entire glove. During operation of the invention, the tethers allow a case or plaque to be swung about the hand from the back position to the palm position by flicking the wrist. By flicking the wrist, the sudden force pulls the holster free from engagement with the fastening pads on the back of the hand. The motion may then cause a device to swing on the tether in an arc and land in the palm of the hand. When in the palm, the device then may securely affix to a magnetic fastening pads on the palm of the glove or be simply held in position by the user. When manipulation of the device is no longer desired, or requires being held in a palm of a hand, the device may be returned to the back position by again flicking the wrist and swinging the device around to the dorsal side of the glove where it affixes and is secured.and can continue to be seen, and performing any number of applications, for example GPS direction finding, playing of music and the like.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. .

Claims

1. A holster for securing a handheld device comprising:

a glove having a dorsal side and a fastening pad on the dorsal side;

a plaque having an attachment pad;

one or more tethers connecting the glove to the holster;

wherein the attachment pad of the holster may be removably affixed to the dorsal fastening pad

wherein the one or more tethers allow the hand held device to be transferred between a palm of an operator' s hand and the dorsal side of the glove by rapid rotation of the operator' s wrist.

2. The holster of claim 1 wherein the device is a cell phone.

3. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are magnetic.

4. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are Velcro.

5. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are adjustable.

6. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads comprise two or more fastening pads and/or attachment pads.

7. The holster of claim 1 wherein the tether is attached to a palmar side of the glove.

8. A holster for securing a hand held device comprising:

a glove having a dorsal side and a fastening pad on the dorsal side;

a holster having an attachment pad;

one or more tethers connecting the glove to the holster;

9. The holster of claim 1 wherein the device is a cell phone.

10. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are magnetic.

11. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are Velcro.

12. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads are adjustable.

13. The holster of claim 1 wherein the fastening and attachment pads comprise two or more fastening pads and/or attachment pads.

14. The holster of claim 1 wherein the tether is attached to a palmar side of the glove.

15. A method for adjusting the location of a hand held device comprising:

Providing a glove having a dorsal side to which a hand held device may be removably attached;

Providing one or more tethers connecting the hand held device to the glove;

Wherein the hand held device may be detached from the dorsal side of the glove by a rapid rotation of the wrist such that the hand held device is delivered into a palm of an operator' s hand.

16. The method of Claim 15 wherein the glove and the device are removably attached by pads.

17. The method of Claim 15 wherein the tethers cause device to travel about the medial side of the operator's hand.

18. The method of Claim 15 wherein the tethers cause device to travel about the lateral side of an operator's hand.

19. The method of Claim 15 wherein the device is removably attached to the dorsal side of the glove such that it may be observed and manipulated by the operator.